


Sanguine

by Karasuha



Category: Naruto
Genre: Action, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Assassins & Hitmen, Badass!Sakura, Character Death, F/M, Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Humor, Romance, Royalty, Sasuke fucked up real bad, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-28
Updated: 2018-03-01
Packaged: 2018-11-05 22:53:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 34,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11023278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Karasuha/pseuds/Karasuha
Summary: She is a skilled assassin; one of the very best in the nation. Imprisoned for life, she is offered a deal. Her freedom, along with clemency, in return for her services. What she didn't expect, was the snarky and sarcastic man assigned as her partner.Betrayed in the past before, will she open her heart once more? AU. SasoSaku.





	1. Rage

 

* * *

Twenty-year-old Haruno Sakura woke up abruptly as a foul stench hit her like a ton of bricks. Her dry throat contracted and she coughed, her hands flying to her face in an attempt to block out the odor. She swore under her breath and rolled over to the right side of her cot, knees bumping and digging into a particularly warm lump. She ignored the lump and tightly shut her eyes, pulling her measly cloth blanket closer to her. Slowly, she could feel the back of her eyes burn as exhaustion rolled in. She sighed as her instincts kicked in, sensing numerous slivers of weak chakra all around her. _'It reeks,'_ She inwardly grumbled. _'It reeks of piss and death.'_

Once her poor nose had gotten used to the putrid odor, Sakura wearily opened her eyes and twisted her neck to look over her shoulder. Her bleary vision cleared as rusted iron bars came into view. Past those bars were more bars, endlessly lining the hallway.

They were holding cells, and she was contained in one of them.

Indeed, she was a prisoner. One that was confined within the nation's most infamous impenetrable penitentiary, meant for the lowest beings of society. It was a place where the more dangerous you were, the higher in the building you would reside. It was a place where the higher in the building you resided, the harder it was for you to taste freedom. From the children that pick pockets, to the adulterating women. From the dirtiest of criminals, to the cruelest of murderers.

It was also a place well known for housing unwanted slaves.

Quietly, she sighed again and rested her head once more.

_'I'm so, so tired...'_

How many days has it been? How many months? Has it been a year or maybe two? The same thought process plagued her muddled mind, over and over again, day after day. Eventually, her mental strength wore out on her and she lost count after the first seven months of confinement. From time to time, she would wish to eventually be free of this forsaken prison, but of course reality would always hit back with reminders of her many sins. At the back of her mind, her conscious whispered to her, ' _You are here... for forever.'_

Her attention was drawn away as she heard various muttered curses from her fellow convicts. A gruff voice belonging to a man residing in the cell beside hers called out, "Who the hell died this time?"

Down the hall, someone replied, "The deranged merchant from Suna."

Several hoarse chuckles circulated around the prison chamber.

 _'Tanimura Shusuke,'_ Sakura recalled. _'The bony man with the crazed look in his eyes.'_ She chuckled heartlessly. He was known for luring young maidens with treasures that he had stolen from nobles and wealthy merchants. If he was successful, he would drug them, rape them, and then dismember them. Sakura never really liked the now deceased man, honestly never really dared to go near him. It was quite obvious that he had a few screws loose in his head, even without his heinous criminal records.

A female voice whispered from beside her. "No wonder we haven't been seeing him lately, right Sakura-chan?"

Sakura cracked open her eyes, only to meet deep sea blue eyes belonging to a fairly petite and scrawny girl.

"Kaya," Greeted Sakura.

Hanzo Kaya was assigned as her cellmate whether or not Sakura wanted her at all. Three years her junior, Kaya was caught pick-pocketing a noblewoman's purse, and was then thrown behind bars on the spot. Sakura found it unfortunate that Kaya was sent to the most ruthless prison in the nation. However, the little girl did not belong in the higher floors of the prison, meant for jailing dangerous S-Classed criminals and whatnot.

The guards had simply told her, "There was not enough space for her in the lower floors."

"Bullshit," Sakura had sneered at them. But despite her cursing, there was nothing she could do about it.

Despite Sakura's many attempts to get rid of her, Kaya was the only person in this blasted facility that was brave enough to try and befriend her. Truly, it touched her heart, and so she allowed the companionship. Not only that, but Sakura would occasionally feel nostalgic as Kaya sometimes resembled an old friend who had passed away long ago.

Recalling the way her knees dug into something warm a few minutes prior, she realized now that that _something_ was Kaya.

"Sorry," Sakura mumbled, "Did I wake you up?"

Kaya smiled and shook her head. "Not at all. I'm fine."

"Anyways," Kaya continued, "I'm glad I don't have to see or feel that lecherous stare of his ever again." She shuddered.

The edges of Sakura's lips slightly lifted upward in mild humor. "Lecherous indeed," She mused, "Any longer and I would've done something to him myself."

Kaya giggled despite knowing Sakura was being serious. Sakura never joked around.

Their quiet chatter was crudely interrupted by a thunderous chime that echoed throughout the entire facility. For once, Sakura was glad that she had woken up before the alarm.

"I can never get used to this," Kaya cringed. "Being woken up by that ghastly bell all the time is not good for my heart."

Sakura agreed wholeheartedly with her.

"It's time to get up," A commanding voice announced. The sound of metal banging against metal echoed as each cell's lock was becoming undone. Slowly, the sound of shuffling feet and exhausted moans were heard all around her.

It was the usual morning routine, where all the prisoners would be waken up at the early hours of dawn to be given rations for breakfast, and then hauled outside to the mines that surrounded the prison. Their daily labor was digging for gems and whatnot for the rich and ignorant nobles that financially kept the facility running.

"Sakura-chan," Kaya nudged her, "Let's hurry and wash up."

Sakura nodded and slowly began to sit up. As the blanket fell off her, a metal collar around her neck was revealed, along with a sleeveless beige tunic. The tunic had deep slits on the side that reached her armpits. Luckily, the fabric was loosely laced together under her breasts and at her hips to prevent revealing more than what was needed. The tunic was also very short in length as it stopped right below her buttocks, showing off her long, pale, and mildly scarred legs. Frankly speaking, she detested how thin and short it was, but she had no say in what she was allowed to wear in a prison.

Her wrists and ankles were also cuffed by metal bands that were similar in design to the one around her collar. From one wrist to the other, and one ankle to the other, the metal bands were connected by fairly heavy chains that was also a meter long in length. Although her collar was simply for identification purposes, the bands around her wrists and ankles were measures taken to prevent her from using her chakra.

Following Kaya's urging, Sakura's chains clattered as she hobbled towards the rustic washing sink located in the far corner of their cell. As she got closer, she noticed her reflection through the dirty mirror perched above the sink. Sakura brushed her side-bangs away from her face and behind her ear. She stared at her reflection, and her reflection stared back at her.

 _'When was the last time I got a good look of myself?'_ She thought wryly.

Her long petal pink hair was now colored an unhealthy shade of dusty pink. Her cheeks were slightly hollowed in, and her lips were noticeably pale and chapped. Skin and bones were all she could see under her tunic. Her emerald eyes had also lost their beautiful shine and was replaced with pure exhaustion.

Beside her, Kaya was splashing her own face with water.

Sakura suddenly felt the urge to ask Kaya, "Do you happen to know what day it is today?"

Kaya looked up in surprise, rapidly blinking water out of her eyes. She knew exactly why her cellmate was asking for the date. Kaya's lips pursed and she hesitated, "Today is the hundredth and forty-sixth day of the Dragon Year."

Silence overcame them for a brief moment.

Sakura slowly swallowed the saliva that built up at the back of her throat and closed her eyes. She calmly exhaled through her nostrils and opened her eyes again. "I see," She said, "Thank you Kaya." She then leaned forward towards the sink and began to wash her own face.

Two years.

It had been two years since she became a prisoner. Memories of the past flooded her mind as she scrubbed dirt and oil off her face. Emotions that she hadn't felt in what seemed like ages welled in her chest. However, it was gone as quickly as it came as she recomposed herself. _'Two years is nothing,'_ She reminded herself, _'You're here forever.'_

After she was done, the two girls began to make their way out of their cell. But before they could step out, the passage was unfortunately blocked by a rather big and burly man.

"You're slow," Sniffed the sentinel. "Not as fast you used to be huh, miss infamous assassin."

Sakura raised a questioning brow. "I'm afraid anyone hooked up to chains as heavy as these," She lifted her arms up, emphasizing the jangling chains between her wrist, and continued, "Would obviously slow down." Then she added, "Unfortunately for you," She lazily waved at his midsection. "You'll always be slowed down by a stomach you can't seem to get rid of."

The sentinel's cheeks flushed red in humiliation. "You-" He gritted out.

"Good day to you, sir." Sakura coolly said. She leisurely side-stepped past him and made her way out of the cell.

Behind her, she heard him shout, "Good day to you, _princess_."

Sakura ignored him and continued walking.

Kaya nervously tittered and darted past the fuming guard in order to catch up to her cellmate. When she finally caught up to the pinkette, Kaya exploded in a fit of giggles. "I don't think anyone here has won a verbal altercation against you yet."

"Impudent bastards," Grumbled Sakura. "Every single one of them."

They followed a crowd of prisoners down winding hallways and many staircases. The prison had a total of twenty-five floors, and their cell was on the eighteenth floor. Eventually coming down upon the lobby of the lowest floor, where a massive metal gate stood. The gate was one of the only two passageways within the vicinity. This particular one stood in between the facility and the outdoors, where the mines were located.

As the two girls entered the lobby, they saw rows upon rows of prisoners, the majority of them from other floors that had arrived before theirs. The rest of the prisoners were from her floor of the penitentiary, lined up and waiting for their rations at the center of the lobby.

"Sakura-chan," Kaya tugged at the pinkette's tunic. "I'll go get our food rations. Wait here for me!" With that said, the scrawny girl ran off to join the line.

As Sakura waited for her cellmate, she watched the usual scenery that took place on a day to day basis. All around her, she saw men, women and children huddled up together while savoring their measly food. She spotted restrained bloodthirsty criminals, obviously imprisoned for killing a person or two. Occasionally, she would see people take their last breath as they fell victim to pure exhaustion and hunger.

"Walk faster if you don't want to lose your head early." Barked a nearby guard. He whacked his scabbard against the back of a woman's legs, causing her to fall over. From what Sakura could see, the woman already sported fresh wounds on her legs and arms. ' _Marks from a whip.'_ She noted.

"P-Please," Begged the woman. She was sprawled on the floor. "Please... give me a few minutes to rest."

The guard's foot slammed against the woman's stomach. A distinct crack was heard along with her desperate gasps for air. "Get up," He growled. "Slaves don't get rest."

Sakura bit the inside of her cheek as she watched. The past two years she had been imprisoned, she would see a similar scene almost every day. Two days ago, it was a child. Last week, it was an elderly man. It was like seeing a one-sided fight between a rabbit and a tiger. It was awful, and it was brutal.

Sakura ripped her eyes away from the sentry and the woman. _'It's only one person.'_ She repeated, _'Only one person.'_ And that was what she would say to herself every day after turning her back once more.

Moments had passed by and Kaya had yet to come back. The younger of the two was no longer in the lineup for their food. Sakura frowned as she scanned across the lobby in search for her fellow inmate. She took notice of a group of restless prisoners, whispering among themselves as they watched an altercation between a sole female and several sentinels. Upon looking closer, Sakura stiffened in alarm as she realized that the female was Kaya.

_'It's only one person.'_

Slowly, she began to move towards Kaya and the soldiers.

_'Only one person.'_

* * *

Kaya held two small brown packages close to her chest, her sea blue eyes looking around frantically for a way out. She was surrounded by four armed men, all of which were leering at her dangerously.

"Where are you going with those two packages, lil' miss?" Grinned one of them, a captain of one of the troops within the prison.

"To my friend," Kaya nervously replied, "These are our rations."

"You can see your friend later," Hummed another guard. He smiled slyly as he pulled at her tunic. "How 'bout you spend awhile with us?"

"I have to get this to my friend," Kaya stammered. "She's hungry."

The guards laughed.

"So is every other prisoner here," The captain said. "But we don't really care."

A third guard on her right side roughly pulled at her arm. Kaya cried out from the pain and discomfort, the rations slipping out of her hands. "Scrawny," He commented, "But that doesn't matter anyways."

The other three guards laughed again. They began to close in on her, each guard pulling out knives and daggers from within their jackets. Petrified, Kaya began to scream and kick. However, the soldiers ignored her shrieking and tightened their grips on her as they began to slash away at her tunic with their daggers.

Eventually, the fourth guard kissed his teeth in annoyance, his ears aching from Kaya's shrieking. He slammed the hilt of his dagger across Kaya's cheek. "Shut up," He hissed, "Shut up before I cut your tongue."

Kaya's screaming was instantly halted, and she began to whimper. Her lower lip cracked open from the impact and began to bleed.

"Come on, man," The second guard snickered. "We need her tongue to be working."

They laughed again.

"P-Please," Kaya whispered. "Please let me go."

The third guard paused mid-laugh and sneered at her. "Hell n- _urk!_ "

Chains came down on him and tightly wrapped around his neck. The guard's eyes bulged and his face turned a dangerous shade of red as he choked, desperately gasping for air. He clawed at the chains in an attempt to pull them off, his nails painfully scraping against his own neck. "...e..lp..." He wheezed. Seconds later, his eyes rolled upwards and his arms fell to his sides. The chains around his neck loosened and the lifeless body tumbled to the ground.

Kaya convulsed at the sight of a corpse right before her feet and she let out a horrified shriek into her hands. Her legs gave out on her and she fell a few inches away from the corpse. Her wide eyes traveled upwards, from the looping chains resting around the dead man's shoulders, to the ends of the chains that were attached to two black manacles. Manacles that happened to be wrapped around pale wrists belonging to one pink-haired woman.

Sakura stared impassively at the man that she had just strangled to death with her own shackles. Then she looked at the rest of the guards that surrounded Kaya. She made eye contact with the frightened child and motioned with her chin, as if telling Kaya to leave.

Kaya hesitated. A beat later, she pulled herself off the ground and scurried away.

"How dare you..." Growled the captain. His grip on his daggers tightened as he glared at Sakura. "Restrain her," He barked, pulling his comrades out of their daze.

The second guard ran at Sakura, his dagger readily positioned to lunge at her. Sakura tightened her chains around the dead man's neck again and hauled the corpse upwards in time to block the dagger. Her makeshift shield made a disturbing sound as it met with the dagger, blood quickly belching out of the wound. She swiftly unraveled her chains around the lifeless man's neck and sent a forceful kick against his back, sending both him and the second guard flying.

Behind her, the fourth guard hurled several blades towards her. Her shackles jingled as she side-stepped each blade and effortlessly caught them, rapidly flinging them back to their owner and impaling him in multiple areas of his body.

The captain faltered after seeing his comrades fall before him, but quickly gained his composure as other sentinels began to crowd around them, some even charging in at Sakura themselves.

As Sakura kicked and punched soldiers left and right, she began to feel a familiar tremor in the ground. Her eyes landed on the large gate that slowly began to open. The prisoners also took notice of the opening passage and began to evacuate towards the gate in a frenzy, hoping to escape the skirmish between a lone madwoman and many, many guards.

The captain took notice of the target in Sakura's eyes. "No!" He yelled, "Don't let her past those gates!"

Sakura hoisted up an unconscious man and threw him towards three men charging at her. She leaped onto the back of the unconscious man during the recoil and flew across hordes of soldiers. Touching down on the ground, she swiftly delivered a roundhouse kick to the guards surrounding her.

Her sharp eyes spotted the faint outline of a pair of daggers inside the jacket of one dead man. She focused strength into her legs and dived for the man's jacket, avoiding knives that flew at her as she tumbled. She stuck her hands into the inner pockets of the jacket and swiftly seized the two daggers, rolling on her backside in time to fend herself from another wave of descending blades. She kicked her heels against the ground and somersaulted backwards, expertly blocking an incoming guard's short-sword with the metal cuffs around her ankles. Landing on the balls of her feet, she quickly hoisted herself up and ran at the nearest man, blades ready in her hands.

Before she could reach him, she felt something narrow and thin pierce the back of her right thigh. Sakura twisted her neck around to look at the invasive object, eyes quickly narrowing as she recognized what she had been hit with.

"A tranquilizer," She breathed. _'And a familiar one at that.'_

Nevertheless, she continued on her rampage. The anger within her, along with the raw thirst for freedom that welled up within her, fueled her and gave her the adrenaline that she needed.

Sakura hacked and slashed her way through the swarm of soldiers, until she finally reached the gate. As she darted past the gate, she saw the familiar bleary world outside of the prison. Next to the prison was the mines, a large sierra of rocks with it's own entryway that led underground. She noted the prisoners making their way into the mines. Briefly, she wondered if Kaya was there too.

Surrounding the prison and the mines however, was a large and extensive wall. It was this particular wall that the prison gained the title of "infamous impenetrable penitentiary." It was difficult to break in, and equally difficult to break out.

She began to feel the effects of the tranquilizer.

 _'I have to escape,'_ She thought, emerald eyes focused on the massive wall before her. _'I will escape.'_

Sakura pumped more strength into her legs and kept running. She steered herself left and right, avoiding arrows sent from the watchtower attached to the prison behind her. As she continued to run, she encountered another mob of guards. She didn't falter and ran straight at them, the two blades in her hands readily positioned to slice and stab.

As she cut her way through the horde, she felt several prickling sensations as she was pierced with more tranquilizers. Her breath hitched in her throat as she stumbled, the potent drug coursing through her veins and numbing her muscles.

 _'A little more,'_ Her vision started to become hazy. _'Just a little more.'_

Sakura winced as an arrow grazed her arm, blood spewing out of the wound. Her knuckles turned white as her grip on the stolen daggers tightened. Narrowly, she side-stepped a sword that swung at her side and she jammed her own dagger into the soldier. Her foot met another guard's stomach, sending him flying towards his comrades. With a new path carved open for her, she dropped her daggers and made a run for it.

She ran as fast as she could, ignoring the rain of arrows that whizzed past her. She leaped into the air and kicked against one man's shoulders to propel herself further. She tumbled as she landed on the ground, getting up immediately to lunge at a guard, pushing past him and several others.

 _'Almost there,'_ She chanted. ' _Almost there.'_

As she got closer and closer to the gate that stood in between the wall, she reached her hand out, fingers stretching and wiggling as she desperately tried to touch the gate.

_Thwack!_

Sakura's eyes slowly widened in disbelief. Her breath caught in her throat. Apprehension dawned as she realized that she had been hit with another sedative. She staggered and then collapsed, her fingers lightly brushing against the gate's cool slate metal. Her legs and arms were completely numb. Her mind had been taken over by drowsiness.

She chuckled hoarsely, "I can't escape..." Gradually, her quiet chuckles turned into a full-blown maniacal laugh.

Slowly, conscious and able-bodied guards began to gather around her. They watched her laugh as if she just had the time of her life. They watched as tears streamed out of the corner of her eyes, down her pale cheeks, and into the dirt.

"She's insane," Whispered one man. "She's a monster."

* * *

Haruno Sakura was sent to the penitentiary on the 84th day of the Tiger Year, to be imprisoned for life.

It was now the 146th day of the Dragon Year, approximately two years after her imprisonment.

47 jailers killed, and many, many others had been injured.

Haruno Sakura was sent to solitary confinement in a chamber at the very top of the prison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was inspired by Sarah J Maas' ToG series and had this idea sitting in my drafts for over a year now. Decided why the heck not, let's work on it. I don't know where this story will lead me, but I hope it turns out alright.
> 
> Thanks for reading.
> 
> R&R!


	2. Offer

 

* * *

"Sasori."

The twenty-four year old looked upwards, his hazel eyes searching for the owner the voice that called out to him. He spotted a figure perched on a tree branch located across the green clearing he had been loitering around for several hours.

"You're late," scowled Sasori, his arms crossed. "I don't like being kept waiting."

Itachi leaped down from his spot on the branch and landed several steps away from the red-head. "Apologies," he murmured, "I had to make sure my tracks were properly covered."

Sasori's lips pursed at his raven-haired companion's very reasonable reply. He sighed and released his arms from their locked position. "It's fine." Then his lips twisted in disdain. "I'd rather we don't get caught."

Itachi hummed in agreement before taking a seat on top of a nearby bedrock.

The two of them had been friends since they were little. Itachi was a prodigy, belonging to a prestigious noble clan that hailed from Konoha, a beautiful and green city that served as the Fire Country's capital. As one of Konoha's top soldiers, Itachi also directly served the Queen herself, sworn to protect her with his life.

On the other hand, Sasori came from the neighboring Wind country, a land constantly exposed to the sun's harsh rays and covered in sandy dunes, with Suna as it's capital city. Wind Country's current king was also his uncle, and thus Sasori was a prince himself. However he liked to keep that fact of himself hidden, and so only a handful of people outside of Suna knew of his royal standing; one of them being Itachi, another being Konoha's monarch.

It was past the break of dawn. The two of them were currently idling around in a forest near Konoha, a long distance and several days away from where they had initially been for their current covert mission of six years and counting, assigned by Konoha's Queen herself. Their aim was to infiltrate the ranks of a mercenary organization owned by a wealthy nobleman. However, their target wasn't the lord himself, but rather a mysterious benefactor that controlled the lord like a puppet behind the scenes. Naturally, the benefactor had yet to reveal himself.

The first year of their mission, they successfully joined the upper ranks of the organization. Afterwords, they spent the next five years scouting around and hunting for information while balancing missions given by the organization's leader. It was rather boorish, as half the time they would hit some sort of dead end. And now finally, after six years of depthless results, a rather interesting yet favorable circumstance finally arose before them.

Sasori stiffled a yawn as he fiddled with a blade in boredom. "So," He drawled, "How do you plan to go about with this... risky opportunity."

"Risky indeed," Itachi's lips pressed together tightly. "That is why we are here," He continued, motioning to their surroundings. His eyes landed on the faraway castle, vividly seen over the treetops. "I believe we should request assistance."

Sasori chewed on the skin of his bottom lip as he eyed the same castle. "This request for assistance could either kill us," He murmured, "Or bring us up."

Itachi agreed.

* * *

Tsunade frowned as her fingers lightly tapped against her mahogany desk in a rhythmical manner. Her hazel eyes were locked onto a particular scroll, a report that she had received three months prior from the prison located on the outskirts of the Fire Country. Like every other morning, she would pull it out to read it once or twice, before moving on to her stash of paperwork.

For the umpteenth time, she let out a frustrated sigh. Her fingers balled up into a tight fist as she glared at the report. _'But what can I do?'_ She bit her lip. It was a question that plagued her mind since even before the report fell into her hands. _'How can I help her?'_

A brief knock sounded against the double doors of her office. "My lady," A muffled female voice could be heard from the other side. "You have important guests waiting for you."

Tsunade raised a brow. Guests? Surely it couldn't be the blasted elders. She collected the report together and rolled it up, the silk of her robes rustling as she moved around. She neatly placed the report next to a fairly tall stack of scrolls at the side of her desk. Then she called out, "Bring them in."

Moments later, the double doors opened, revealing the head maid Shizune, along with two hooded figures following behind her. Once the two figures settled inside of the room, Shizune closed the doors behind her and made her way to Tsunade's side. "Look who's home after all these years." Shizune cheerfully said.

Before Tsunade could ask, the two figures pulled back their hoods. Tsunade's eyebrows shot up in surprise as she recognized the faces of Sasori and Itachi.

The two men swiftly knelt before her and lowered their heads in respect. "Your Majesty." They greeted.

"Rise, the both of you." She smiled and nodded at each of them. "I'm glad to see the both of you healthy and strong."

Sasori and Itachi straightened themselves, each murmuring quick thanks.

Tsunade nodded again. Then she cleared her throat, her gaze more stern. "Report."

"We believe Uchiha Madara will be showing himself soon." Itachi murmured, "Two weeks ago, it was announced within the organization that a battle royale will be held in a month between skillful thieves and killers."

Sasori crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "Utterly ridiculous if I do say so myself." He muttered under his breath.

Tsunade's eyes narrowed at the newfound information and she frowned. "What do you suppose his ulterior motive is?" She wondered.

"I believe it is to fill in the final position of his line of top assassins, in order to carry out an even bigger operation." Answered Itachi.

"The catch is," Sasori interrupted. "Not anyone can join this battle royale."

Curiously, she asked, "What do you mean?"

"That is why we are here." Itachi continued, "Including Sasori and I, there are currently ten highly ranked members of the organization. Each member is allowed to handpick one person to participate in this competition."

"It's rather risky," Sasori frowned, "But I believe it's an opportunity to bring in a third person into this mission." Then he added, "It would also greatly assist Itachi and I, since we are constantly assigned on missions by the organization's leader."

Tsunade laid back against her seat and folded her hands across her lap as she contemplated. "So how do you want to go about with this opportunity?"

"Itachi has already plucked an irrelevant thief from a random village to be his representative." Sasori lazily flicked a ball of cotton off of his sleeve. "The battle royale starts in a month. I've gotten permission to roam the nation to search for my representative, because everyone certainly knows how picky and eccentric I am." He sarcastically said, rolling his eyes once more.

"Ah," Tsunade hummed. "So you're hoping I could provide you with someone."

"Correct," Sasori smiled lightly. "Smart as ever, Your Majesty."

"You don't give me enough credit, Prince." Tsunade huffed, "I'm not queen or head physician for nothing."

Itachi smiled lightly at the banter between his friend and his monarch.

"Anyways," Tsunade cleared her throat. "In terms of skill and prowess, I believe Sasuke is most suited for this mission."

Sasori made a face at the mention of his companion's younger sibling.

"This is a death match." Itachi's lips pursed in disdain. "I would not like to witness my little brother's death if he were to be overpowered in these matches. Besides," Itachi shrugged a little. "I believe he would rather stay here in the palace, in order to protect our parents in the case of something terrible befalling them."

Tsunade's brows furrowed. "If you say it like that, then I don't have anyone for you. I can't possibly offer you the rest of the brats in the guards either, they're just as irreplaceable."

Sasori tapped his foot a little, silently thinking. "If possible," He started, shifting his weight from one leg to the other. "One that is efficient when it comes to killing with absolutely no qualms. Perhaps someone from the prison?"

Tsunade's eyes widened a little. Slightly baffled, she asked, "You want a criminal to represent you?"

Sasori shrugged. "It would be preferred. Specifically, one who used to be an assassin. If you can't provide one, someone of similar caliber would be fine." His eyes quickly narrowed as he noticed the corner of her lips twitch, along with a brief flash of pain in her eyes. "You have someone in mind." He stated.

Tsunade slowly closed her eyes. When she opened them again, her hazel orbs landed on the small scroll that sat next to her pile of paperwork. She gently took it into her hand, gave it a long stare, and then placed it back down on her desk. She slid it towards him and motioned at it with her chin. Quietly, she said, "Read it."

Sasori and Itachi gave each other questioning looks before Sasori grabbed it off the desk. He unrolled the scroll and speedily scanned the contents of the report. When he was done, he handed the scroll to Itachi and looked back at Tsunade. "When was this?"

"Three months ago."

Itachi's foot tapped as he read the report. "Forty-seven jailors killed in order to stop her from escaping." The more he read, the more he began to frown. Slowly, a glint of understanding and recognition began to appear in his eyes.

Tsunade closed her eyes again and began to massage her temples. "Mind you, this is a high-security prison we're talking about. She was rendered unconscious by several tranquilizers before she reached the outer wall."

"She was hit by the tranquilizers a few minutes before she reached the wall." Sasori repeated the words he had read not too long ago, his lips twitched as amusement danced in his eyes. "How weak are these tranquilizers?"

"They're not weak at all," Tsunade grumbled. "One dose of those tiny tranquilizers can knock out an elephant in ten seconds." Then with a proud huff, she added, "I was the one who created them."

"And yet it took four doses and eight minutes to completely knock her out." Sasori said, slightly impressed. Then he raised a brow as a question that he should've asked a while ago struck him. "Who is she?"

"The imperial princess." Itachi stated. He rolled up the scroll and set it back on Tsunade's desk.

"Yes," Tsunade's gaze fell on the scroll. "My student and heir," She whispered, "My daughter."

Sasori blinked as the new information soaked in. "She's a _princess_?"

Neither Tsunade nor Itachi said a word.

"Wait," Sasori rubbed his temples. "How come I've never seen her the three years that I've lived here?" _'And how did a_ princess _end up in prison?'_

"She had been training at a secluded island long before your uncle sent you here to me." Tsunade smiled faintly, "She came back a month after the two of you left for this mission, and insisted partaking in the royal army's advanced activities."

Before Sasori could ask anymore questions, Tsunade cleared her throat. "Do you think she would fit your description?"

Taking the hint, he bit at the inside of his cheek in order to restrain himself. "Perfectly," Sasori murmured.

"Alright," Tsunade stood up from her seat. "I will call a meeting with the Council and bring this up to them. Even though I am queen, I can't make any decisions without their approval." She added, "Even if it concerns my own daughter."

"We greatly appreciate your help," said Itachi. He humbly bowed his head, Sasori following suit.

A quiet chuckle escaped Tsunade's lips. "No need to thank me," She murmured. "I benefit greatly from this opportunity too."

* * *

Hours after Sasori and Itachi had left her office, Tsunade stayed true to her words and called a meeting between herself and the councilmen.

The sun was now setting, and they were currently seated in the Hall of Wisdom, a chamber where the majority of her meetings with the council took place. Tsunade sat at the head of a long table. Seated on the left side of her, near the center of the table, were three elders wise beyond their age, and serving as her advisories. Lined up on the entire right side of the table, were seven men, all of them leaders to their own respective clans. In short, the council had a total of ten members.

"What is the reason for this unplanned meeting?" Demanded Utatane Hotaru. Seated between the other two elderly men, she was the only female in the council. "For what reason must we be summoned before nightfall?!" Frankly, Tsunade found her the most annoying out of the three elders.

Following Hotaru's cry of complaint were several murmurs of confusion and curiosity. Tsunade bit the inside of her cheek in irritation as the drivel got louder and louder. "Enough!" Tsunade commanded, her voice booming within the chamber. "You dare question my summonings?"

Not wanting to upset their queen even further, the members of the council began to quiet down. Once they completely settled down, Tsunade took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "It seems Madara will show himself soon."

The pressure in the room dropped as silence enveloped the chamber.

"Madara?" Hissed Nagai Kogarou, an elder seated near the end of the table, to Utatane's left. "Madara will show himself?" His voice raised as he repeated Tsunade's words in disbelief. "How is that possible?" His eyes fell on the the man seated closest to Tsunade. "Lord Uchiha, is this nonsense true?"

Uchiha Fugaku, general of the royal army, was a man well into his late forties, with sleek raven hair, and eyes as black as night. He quietly sighed as he closed his eyes and crossed his arms. "It appears my son is back." He murmured, obviously relaxed in his chair.

"That's right," Tsunade confirmed. "Your eldest son and his companion has returned briefly to inform me of this."

Fugaku gave a low hum of approval.

"That's impossible," Hotaru scoffed. "That traiterous bastard is dead."

"Do you have evidence that he is dead?" A fair man with long brown locks and a set of pearl eyes spoke up. Hyuuga Hiashi's cold eyes bore through Hotaru. "I don't mean to disrespect you, Elder Utatane," He continued, "However, since his act of treason, we have been unable to locate his whereabouts, nor do we have evidence that he is dead."

Hotaru's eyes narrowed. "Lord Hyuuga," She started, "The revolt was twenty years ago. I saw with my own two eyes, the way an arrowed pierced his chest. I saw how he fell, how the rubble buried him." She huffed haughtily. "How can anyone survive that?"

"And yet," Hiashi countered, "His body was nowhere to be found, despite the efforts to find it."

"Enough," Growled a man seated on Utatane's right. Mitokado Homura turned his attention to Tsunade, who was beginning to lose her patience again. "My queen," He humbly bowed his head. "Please continue."

Tsunade hummed and nodded in approval.

"It's been reported by Fugaku's son and his companion that a battle royale will be held soon and a representative will be needed." Tsunade tossed a certain report towards the center of the table. "I have someone in mind. Itachi and his special companion also requests to have this person."

"I may be wrong," Hiashi started, "But I believe Itachi's companion is of royalty?"

"Aa," Fugaku closed his eyes as he let out a knowing smirk. "His Highness Sasori, of the Land of Wind."

Hotaru's eyes widened at the mention of their neighbouring country's prince. "The current king's nephew?!"

"Correct." Slowly, a feral smile creeped onto Tsunade's features. "The prince has been traveling with Fugaku's son for over six years now, on a joint mission between Konoha and Suna that I specially assigned them." She continued, "And His Highness requests that we specially lend this person to him for the sake of the mission to expose Madara and finish him off once for all."

Whispers circulated around the chamber.

Homura quickly grabbed the scroll that lay at the center of the table. He unraveled the scroll, his eyes scanning left and right as he took in the content of the scroll. His eyebrows furrowed and he blinked several times as he reread certain parts of the report.

"The princess," Breathed Homura, his eyes widening in disbelief. "You want the princess to take part in this."

At this, Hotaru's shrill stare instantly came down on Tsunade. She hissed, "You-"

"Let's make a wager," Tsunade interrupted. "However I assure you, it's a very, very one-sided wager." She smiled slyly.

"Absolutely not!" Hotaru shrieked. "You want to free a killer?!"

A blond man stood up and slammed his hands on the table. "Don't you dare speak ill towards our princess." Yamanaka Inoichi growled.

"Our princess," Utatane sneered, "Is a cold blooded killer, one who killed her own people." She let out a mocking laugh. "Oh my, did you perhaps forget how your daughter entered the afterlife?"

Inoichi gritted his teeth. "You know nothing." He hissed.

Hotaru huffed and rolled her eyes. "Anyways," Her attention went back to Tsunade. "This wager of yours is invalid and nonsensical."

"No," Fugaku spoke up. "If His Highness Sasori specially requested this, it would most likely anger Wind Country's king if we refuse."

Tsunade grinned as she met eye to eye with Fugaku, who returned her grin with a smirk. She set her elbows onto the table and laced her fingers together. "We can't afford to anger his uncle and have a war break out against our strongest ally," She smiled at Hotaru. "Isn't that right?"

Hotaru lips trembled in anger, her eyes glaring holes through Tsunade. However, Tsunade was unaffected. She knew she had the elders trapped. _'Wrapped around my little pinky, and all it took was using that cheeky brat's name.'_

"Your Majesty, what do you suggest we do?" asked Homura. He slowly set the scroll back down on the table.

Tsunade straightened up in her seat. Her eyes sharpened as she looked at each and every member of the Council. "We will heed Prince Sasori's request. If my daughter succeeds in this mission, I want her reinstated as my heir, to be next in line for the throne once more."

"Killer or not," Tsunade continued. "She is the only princess you have." Then she smiled, "If you refuse, I will simply abdicate my seat to a certain whiskered idiot in the army, and I will do it without the Council's approval."

A string of coughs escaped Hiashi. "Your Majesty!" He exclaimed incredulously.

"I'm sure you wouldnt like that." Tsunade nodded sagely. "So," She smiled once more. "What do my dear councilmen think of this offer?"

Once more, the chamber was enveloped with hushed whispers.

Minutes later, Fugaku cleared his throat, catching the attention of his councilmates. "All in favor of this offer, raise your hand." As he said that, he raised his own hand.

Not long after his hand went up, the other six clan leaders followed suit, lifting their own hands in approval to Tsunade's offer. The elders, albeit reluctant, also raised their hands.

Tsunade felt her shoulders loosen up as a wave of relief and a sense of accomplishment overcame her. _'I can finally help her.'_

She let out a long and slow wave of breath. "This meeting is now adjourned."

* * *

Two days had passed since Sasori and Itachi had arrived at Konoha. The very night they heard news of the Council's approval, they immediately departed from Konoha. The penitentiary was located on the outskirts of the Fire Country's border, and so it was a day's travel on horse from Konoha.

They had sent a messenger hawk before they left, in order to inform the warden of their arrival. The sun was rising when they reached the penitentiary, and they were instantly let in without being bodily searched. Of course, another reason they were let in so easily was because Itachi had visitedm as Tsunade's ambassador several times in the past.

Once they crossed the yard and entered the building, a bald man with a peculiar curly mustache bowed before them. "It is good to see you again, young lord." He murmured.

"Aa," Itachi nodded. Deciding not to beat around the bush, Itachi asked, "I assume you've read the message we sent with the hawk last night?"

"Yes, of course." The warden motioned towards a nearby hallway. "This way please. We have brought her down from her cell."

Without another word, Sasori and Itachi followed after him.

After a minute of walking, they came upon a sole door. The warden unlocked the door and opened it slightly for them. "She is in here."

Itachi nodded and dismissed the warden. "Thank you. We will call upon you if we need assistance."

With that said, Sasori and Itachi entered the room. What they found inside of the room was a lone woman on the floor, her wrists and ankles weighed down by long, heavy chains attached to the wall.

Sasori observed her as Itachi closed the door behind them.

She was a pale woman that was thin to the very bone. Her equally pale pink hair cascaded down her shoulders and around her. Curiously, Sasori squinted his eyes in an attempt to see past the bangs that covered her face.

"Who are you?"

Sasori blinked as he realized a whisper had escaped from the girl.

"Who are you?" She repeated, louder than the first time.

Itachi stepped up and knelt on the floor in front of her. "Your highness," He began.

"Don't call me that."

Itachi paused for a second. "Your highness," He said again. "I'm not sure if you remember me," He said gently. "I am Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke's older brother."

The girl slowly sat up. As her bangs fell away from her face, Sasori noticed her lifeless green eyes. "Get out." She flatly said.

Itachi's eyebrows furrowed. Was it possible that she didn't remember him? "Your hi-"

"I said get out."

Before Itachi could say anything else, Sasori instantly stepped up. "We're here to take you out of here."

The girl became still as stone as she processed his words. A beat later, "Elaborate."

"I hear the reason why you're here is because you supposedly went mad on a mission and massacred a few of your own soldiers." Sasori lazily waved his hand. "Naturally, that's unacceptable behavior, even from a princess such as yourself."

Sasori smirked as he noticed the corner of her lips twitch a little. He knelt on one knee and looked at her straight in the eyes. "Clemency, in exchange for your prowess." He stated. "You would be a great asset towards the success of our mission." He added.

"Your mission," She echoed.

"Correct," He confirmed. "Your mother also wishes for you to partake in this, and has received permission from the elders to offer you clemency if the mission is a success."

The girl went silent at the mention of her mother.

"If you accept," He slowly said, "You'll never see this place again." He motioned at the walls surrounding them. "You'll never be a prisoner again."

Sasori watched her as she thought about what he had said. Despite the lifelessness in her eyes, he saw a hint of defiance along with a spark of hope. _'What an odd shade of green,'_ He mused, fascinated by the color of the girl's eyes. Never before, had he ever seen eyes as green as hers.

The girl looked up, and her green eyes met his hazel eyes. "Who are you?" She asked.

"Sasori," He simply said. Then he stood back up on his feet and offered her his hand.

She watched him with a calculative stare, her eyes moving back and forth between his eyes and his hand.

"Haruno Sakura," He began. "Do accept this offer?"

Sakura stared at his hand as she took the offer into consideration again. ' _Freedom,'_ She chanted in her head. ' _Freedom.'_ She looked over to Itachi, who was still knelt down beside her. He sent her a small smile of encouragement.

She slowly reached for Sasori's waiting hand, the chains around her wrists jangled as she moved. She hesitated for a brief second, before placing her hand on top of his palm. As their hands met, she felt the heavy weight of her despair being lifted off her shoulder.

Sakura's eyes met Sasori's eyes once more. She saw surety, along with confidence in his eyes. Confident that they would succeed. Confident that he would be the key to her freedom.

"I do."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seems like everyone is getting some kind of offer. Sasori is here though!
> 
> R&R!


	3. Homecoming

Sakura eyed the warden as he slowly inched closer to her with a ring of keys in his hand. A while after she had accepted Sasori's proposition, Itachi had called the warden in to free her of her shackles. Naturally, the warden was nervous, as he did not know who she really was until a few seconds ago.

"I suggest you hurry up if you really don't want to get on my bad side," She nonchalantly said. A threatening smile crept onto Sakura's features as she lifted her arms up and dangled the heavy chains. "Anytime now, my good sir."

"Yes, your Highness," The warden rushed to her side, the keys fumbling in his hands as he searched for the one that would set her free. Once he found it, he began to unlock the bindings around her wrists. Sakura hummed in approval as the manacles detached from her wrists. She let out a content sigh as she massaged them.

As the warden fiddled with the shackles around her ankles, she watched as Sasori and Itachi quietly talk amongst themselves on the other side of the chamber. Her eyes were particularly on the shorter of the two.

Sasori caught her eyes while mid-sentence in his conversation with Itachi. He held their eye contact for just a few seconds longer before breaking away.

"Now that this is over with," Sasori cleared his throat, dismissing his conversation with Itachi. "I believe it is time we head back to Konoha." With that said, he pushed himself off the wall he was leaning against and made his way out of the chamber.

Sakura raised a brow. "Look's like someone's in a rush." She muttered.

"My apologies," Itachi murmured, "He happens to be a very impatient man."

Sakura rolled her eyes as she patted the dust off of her behind. Without another word, she hobbled her way out of the chamber, Itachi following closely behind her.

After what seemed like ages of walking down the dark and eerie hallway, they finally reached the main lobby of the penitentiary. _'When was the last time I was here?'_ She wondered. Seeing the empty lobby made her feel weird, as it was always full with the penitentiary's inhabitants whenever the sun came up.

Itachi motioned towards the familiar large gate that stood on the other side of the lobby. "This way."

The gate was already open, the sun's vivid rays piercing through the opening. Her steps became more eager as she walked towards the gate, breaking out into a slow jog as she got closer and closer. A gentle gust of wind brushed her skin, her hair flowing to the side of her face and away from her eyes. She let out a content sigh as the sun's warmth kissed her cheeks.

Ever since she had gotten locked away at the top of the penitentiary three months ago, she never saw the sun again. Her cell was windowless, with only cold air coming in through the cracks of the walls. It made her ecstatic, knowing that she could finally see the sun again.

"Here."

A large and thick burgundy cloth came into view before it fell on top of her head. As she indulged in the view and breathed in the musky air, Sasori had appeared beside her and unceremoniously dumped the heavy cloth on her.

Sakura scowled and pulled the cloth off of her. Upon further inspection, she realized it was a cloak. Her eyebrows scrunched in mild confusion and curiosity.

"Put this on," Sasori muttered, eyeing the measly, yet revealing fabric that clung to her skin. "It'll take an entire day to reach Konoha. I'd rather you not get sick in the middle of mission preparations, so make do with that for now." He quickly looked away and trudged towards two horses strapped to a large oak tree.

Deeming his reasoning valid, Sakura pulled the cloak around her without another word. As she tied the strings under her collar, she noticed that the cloak had a very faint scent of cinnamons and spices. _'Does this cloak belong to him?'_ She wondered. She looked over to him, quickly realizing that he was now only wearing a long sleeved tunic to protect him from the wind.

"Unfortunately, we only came with two horses." Sasori drawled, motioning to the steeds beside him. "You will have to share with one of us," He then waved his hand between himself and Itachi, who was tugging his own cloak off of the horse.

She shrugged at the idea of having to share a ride with one of the men. Honestly speaking, she didn't really care, as long as she wasn't walking the distance back to Konoha.

"Hmm," She eyed the two stallions. One horse had beautiful sleek black mane, the other donning a peculiar shade of rustic red. "Ooh." She hoisted herself on top of the red horse, landing comfortably on the saddle.

Sasori gave her a blank stare. "What are you doing?"

Sakura smiled and gently patted the horse's head. "I choose this one."

Sasori gave her a blank stare. "Why... that one?" Sasori slowly asked, slightly perplexed. He was also hoping that she would choose to ride with Itachi. Not choose a horse. It so happened that that particular horse belonged to him. "Why not the other one?" He gestured to the obsidian stallion.

"Because this one is pretty." She simply replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Truly, he wanted to commend her for recognizing such grace and beauty within a horse, yet at the same time, the irritation that gnawed at him from within was rapidly growing and growing.

"Apologies, old friend," Itachi murmured from beside him. "Since young, Her Highness tends to be rather... spontaneous at times." He explained.

Sasori inhaled slowly and pinched the bridge of his nose. _'So our assassin happens to be a little odd and difficult.'_ He exhaled. "Alright." And without another word, he pulled himself up and seated himself behind her.

As his chest pressed against her back, Sakura got another whiff of cinnamon and spices. This time, it was slightly stronger than the light fragrance eminating from his cloak. She had to admit, it was a pleasant scent, and she quite liked it.

After double checking that Itachi was seated on his own steed and ready to depart, Sasori looped his arms under Sakura's and grabbed onto the reins. He gently nudged against the sides of his own horse and slightly pulled the reins, as if telling the horse it was time to go.

As the horses trotted along the dirt path, Sakura noticed their surroundings. All around them were trees of different sizes, each flourishing beautifully with different shades of green. Flowers were also beginning to bloom around the branches and roots of the trees. She also spotted several squirrels and birds along the way. ' _The season of spring,'_ She realized, a wave of contentment washing over her. Without realizing it, her muscles began to loosen up in relaxation. A small tender smile donned her features.

From behind her, Sasori carefully watched her as she indulged nature's pleasantries. He found it odd how nature could easily change a person's temperament. Ever since he had met her in the dreary prison room, the pink-haired princess had a permanent frown on her face. _'She must have missed it,'_ He glanced upwards to the sky. Then he looked at the trees and flowers surrounding them. His gaze returned to the back of her head. _'Everything,'_ He realized. _'She must have missed everything.'_

_'But how did a princess end up in prison?'_ He mused.

"Stop staring at me."

Pulled out of his deep thoughts, Sasori blinked. "Excuse me?"

"I said stop staring at me," Sakura repeated, a bit louder than the first. "My senses aren't as magnificent as they used to be, but that doesn't mean I can't feel you staring directly at the back of my head."

"It's not like I want to stare at you, much less at the back of your head." Sasori immediately retorted. Then he added, "The size of your head is rather big, if I do say so myself."

Sakura twisted her neck and upper body around towards him and glared at him. "I'd say you're rather short yourself, if my head is giving you a problem." She snapped.

Ahead of them, Itachi quietly chuckled to himself.

Sasori gave a stiff smile. "Turn around before I push you off."

Sakura glared at him once more before turning back around.

* * *

By the time they arrived at Konoha, it was nightfall. As the horses trotted down the stone roads, Sakura recognized various old buildings, yet discovered new ones along the way. She spotted several of her favorite shops and bakeries and was extremely pleased to know that the establishments were still operating. The citizens were also as lively as ever, unfazed by the arrival of the night.

As they got closer to the castle gates, a wave of nostalgia washed over her. Delicate white wisteria vines clung to the outer walls surrounding the castle and dangled downwards from the top of the castle gates. The castle itself was as grand and magnificent as she remembered it to be, the walls forged with white bricks, and the roof-tops of each tower made of red tiles.

Upon reaching the gates, a guard stepped forward to greet them. Itachi dismounted his horse and began to trudge by feet to meet the guard halfway. The two began to speak to each other in hushed whispers.

On the other hand, Sasori and Sakura stayed on top of their horse, waiting to be let inside the palace grounds.

"It's been a long time," She softly said, eyes gazing at the palace before her.

Sasori's eyes fell on her, only to stare at the back of her head once more. After a few seconds of silence, he quietly asked, "Did you miss it?"

"Every day." She murmured.

Silence overcame them. A moment later, they noticed Itachi advancing towards them. "We can enter," He briefly said to them, before mounting back onto his horse.

Sasori gently tugged at his reins, signalling his horse to move forward.

After advancing past the gates and down the long and wide cobblestone pathway, they noticed two figures standing at the top of a large grandiose stairway, connected to the entrance of the castle. Sakura's eyes slowly widened as she recognized the identities of the two figures.

Tsunade rushed down the stairway, Shizune following right behind her. On the other hand, Sakura hastily dismounted from the horse and began to shuffle towards them. The mother and the daughter collided, their arms tightly wrapped around one another.

The blonde queen was simply ecstatic. After two years of confinement, her child was finally before her again. Giving Sakura a once-over, Tsunade's heartstrings pulled at the condition the pinkette was in.

The girl was so thin, and so very pale. Her long tresses was now flat and lackluster, having lost their beautiful pink pigmentation. Once filled with passion and ambition, her emerald eyes were now lifeless and shrouded with clouds of despair.

But that didn't matter. Her child was free.

Tsunade hugged her again. "Welcome home," She whispered.

The corners of Sakura's lips slightly tilted upwards. It was a small smile, but nonetheless, it was still a smile. "Thank you," She murmured.

* * *

After a night of rest, Sakura spent the entire next day catching up with Tsunade. They talked about many things, from Sakura's two years of confinement, to Tsunade's secret regime for obtaining wrinkle-free skin. Her mother was still as beautiful as ever, with no signs of aging whatsoever. Truth be told, it boggled her mind, seeing how youthful her mother was.

Later that night, Itachi departed Konoha to resume his mission. "We'll meet him in a month," Sasori explained to her. "Starting tomorrow, I will assist you with training."

True to his word, the red-haired prince barged into her sleeping quarters at the crack of dawn and threw her out of bed. "We're going on a run," He briefly said, before leaving her to her morning routines.

Over the course of the next few days, she spent the majority of her time with Sasori. From dawn to mid-day, she ran laps around the palace grounds. After lunch with her mother, they would go through different exercises to increase her proficiency in balance, endurance, strength, and flexibility. Every other day, they would meditate. By nightfall, they would practice hand-to-hand combat before finishing the day with dinner.

It was a cycle. Rinse and repeat.

After two weeks had gone by, Sasori deemed her fit enough to factor weapons into their training. From dual blades, to long swords. From archery to knife throwing. Each day was a different weapon for her to familiarize with again.

Sasori was fairly impressed with the rate she was improving. Perhaps it was because she had endured a similar type of training when she was younger, that she had no difficulties adjusting to his training regimen.

_'She's an assassin,'_ Sasori reminded himself, swiftly dodging a blade that she had aimed at him. _'This is nothing new to her.'_

It was now mid-day, four weeks into their training. Frankly speaking, it was currently their last day of training, as they would depart for their mission the next morning. They were currently sparring, with daggers as their weapon of choice for the day. After the first few duels against each other, Sasori realized that Sakura preferred blades over bows and arrows. Regardless of what she wielded though, he noticed that her precision was top-notch.

A blade aimed at his head flew at him. His reflects kicked in and he sidestepped the dagger, narrowly managing to dodge it. _'If I was a lesser man, I'd be dead.'_ He mused.

"You haven't told me what I'm supposed to do on this mission yet," She casually said, slashing at him from the front. "It's been a month, and we leave tomorrow."

He leaped backwards, successfully dodging her blade. "Your mother hasn't told you?"

Sakura rolled her eyes before lifting her blades up to block his incoming dagger. She mustered strength into her arms, moving upwards to disengage from the lock she had his blade in. She dropped to the ground and aimed at his feet with a sweep of her own, to which he successfully dodged.

"She has," She replied. "But only the minor details."

"Well, I'm sure you're well versed in the history of your nation," He murmured. "Especially the event twenty years ago that involved the Uchiha clan, with a certain madman as the center."

At the mention of Konoha's strongest clan, Sakura unconsciously increased the strength applied into her swing. Their blades clashed against each other several times, her strength increasing little by little during each strike. Sasori's eyes narrowed as he noticed the sudden power spike. _'How odd,_ ' He thought.

"Uchiha Madara," She said, breaking him out of his musings.

"That's right," He confirmed.

She threw several small daggers at him. "So what is my role in this?"

"Ah," Sasori hummed. He expertly reflected the incoming daggers with his own. "It's simple really," He started. "You'll represent me in this silly competition, and hopefully come out successful. Then we find our guy and kill him before he kills us."

Sakura paused mid swing and gave him an incredulous look.

"Wonderful plan, if I do say so myself." He shrugged.

"Genius," She flatly replied. "Completely fool-proof."

They spent the next few minutes slashing at each other, dodging left and right to avoid deadly cuts. It was like a dance.

Then she suddenly asked him, "So what is the neighbouring kingdom's Prince Sasori doing all the way over here?" Sakura aimed for his left side with the hilt of one of her daggers.

It was a sudden change of topic, he had to admit. What really put him off though, was that the subject of the topic was _him._

Sasori's eyes widened and he faltered, unable to avoid her jab. He slightly winced as the blow connected. _'For a tiny person, she hits_ hard.'

Sakura blinked, slightly surprised that she had landed an attack of some sort on his person. The past month of training with Sasori, she had been unable to deal a successful blow to him. As much as she hated to admit it, the sarcastic and witty man was a fabulous teacher and sparring partner.

"What," She chuckled. "You thought I didn't know?" Then she added, "My mother didn't tell me, by the way."

Sasori frowned. "Then how-"

"How did I know?" She interrupted. She lazily waved her hand around, her blade still in her palms. "I saw you. Years ago, I mean. I saw you on one of your trips here with your grandmother."

Sasori scowled. _'And yet I've never seen her in my life_ _until now.'_

Aiming at the hilt of her blade, he chucked his own dagger at her, successfully knocking it out of her hands. He smirked at the yelp that escaped her.

"Well, look at the time," He nonchalantly said. "I believe it's time to meet your mother for dinner."

Sakura glared at him before picking her dagger off the ground. "Insufferable bastard."

* * *

The dinner was lovely, as per usual, except it felt a little more special as it was the last one she would have with her mother in a long time. This time around, Sasori had agreed to join them for dinner. Normally, the redhead would consume his dinner inside his own chambers while reading books on the history of the Fire Country's many artworks.

Sakura found it livelier than usual with another person at the dining table. It definitely made her mother more talkative than ever. Truth be told, it made her feel a little warm inside, and she quite liked it.

She also noticed that the red-haired prince seemed to find entertainment in shooting snarky comments at her mother.

With her sleeping quarters as her destination, she silently trudged down one of many hallways within the palace.

It was then that she heard an all too familiar voice call out to her. Her body froze in place. Her heart constricted as anger and anguish overcame her.

There was only one person she did not want to encounter during her month-long stay at the castle before the mission. And yet, the gods above had decided to smite her at this very moment, on the last day of her stay, by presenting Uchiha Sasuke before her very eyes.

They had known each other since young, as his father was the commander of the royal army. They had trained together and gone on missions together. They had fallen in love with each other. Despite not being of royal blood, Sasuke was quite popular due to his attractiveness, and she was the one that had won him over.

Judging by his black garbs and armor plates, he had just come back from a mission. Peeking out of his collar, she noticed three distinct scars on his neck, all of them parallel to one another. They were scars that she had inflicted on him herself with her nails during her rampage two years ago. Deep down inside, she was pleased. _'He deserved it.'_

"Sakura," He called again.

She ignored him and began to hastily walk past him.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed at her blatant act of false ignorance. He grabbed hold of her wrist and pulled her back. "Let's talk." He murmured.

"No." Sakura pulled her arm back, but the grip he had on her remained. "Let go," She growled.

"We need to talk," Sasuke repeated, edginess evident in his tone of voice.

She glared at him. "We have no reason to talk."

"We have plenty reasons to talk." He scowled. The hold he had on her arm tightened.

"Not anymore," Sakura sneered. "You are nothing to me now." She motioned between the both of them with her free hand. "Everything between you and I? Gone. Down the drain, since the shit you pulled two years ago." She hissed.

Sasuke's lips pursed, as he held their gaze. A beat later, he slowly said, "You still won't forgive me."

"Never," She breathed. "I will never forgive you."

Without another word, Sakura forcefully yanked her arm out of his grasp. She gave him one last look before turning on her heels to walk away again.

He was a friend. He was a lover. He was family.

He was the man that ignited her rampage two years ago.

He was also the man that had no place in her heart anymore.

Around the corner of a nearby hallway, stood Sasori, his back against the wall. He was planning to catch up to Sakura in order to remind her of the time they would depart in the morning. That was, until Itachi's little brother appeared. _'Interesting.'_ Sasori did not mean to eavesdrop really, but he also did not feel guilty about it. Having discovered newfound knowledge, he silently walked away before the brooding Uchiha would notice him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A past flame has appeared!!
> 
> Also, I discovered that I tend to write a lot more while I'm commuting to work and back, compared to when I'm just sitting at home.
> 
> Thanks for reading!  
> R&R~


	4. Companion

 

The black of night faded away as the sun ascended the horizon. It washed away the black and blue shades that stained the sky, and replaced it with vivid hues of red and yellow. Sasori and Sakura were standing together at the palace gates. The both of them were wrapped in their cloaks, their stallions positioned besides them.

A month had finally gone by, and the two of them were ready to depart for their mission. Sakura had successfully gained back the majority of her strength and stamina through her grueling training sessions with Sasori. Her hair had also regained its beautiful pink pigmentation, and her emerald colored eyes were a lot livelier compared to when she had first arrived a month ago.

Standing before them was Tsunade and Shizune, both women still dressed in their nightgowns. Despite it being the early hours of the morning, they did not wish to let Sakura and Sasori go without saying goodbye.

Tsunade gently wrapped her arms around Sakura. "Be safe," She murmured. "Come home safe."

Sakura smiled lightly and nodded against Tsunade's bosom. It saddened her to be separated from her mother once more, but she knew deep down that her mother's despair reached an endless depth compared to hers. The pinkette's arms wrapped around the queen's waist. "I will," She softly replied, giving a reassuring squeeze. "I'll be home soon."

Nearby, Sasori watched as the mother and daughter embraced each other. He was quickly reminded of a similar scene a month ago, when Sakura had arrived home from imprisonment. _'She definitely looks better now compared to a month ago.'_ He mused, his mind rewinding back to the thin and bitter girl that he met in the cell. The red-headed prince let out a quiet, yet satisfied huff. The snarky Konoha princess didn't know it, but he had been regulating the food she had been eating the past month. From giving recipes to the cooks, to making the food himself and getting Shizune to give it to the girl, he made sure that she was fed properly. Now she was healthier, and he was glad for that. After all, he'd rather her not die early during their mission.

His mind then wandered off to the previous night, to when he had unintentionally eavesdropped on a conversation between Sakura and her past flame. Every time the Uchiha clan was mentioned, the princess would react oddly and rather aggressively. From the cell room when Itachi had introduced himself to her, to the training session he had with her the previous day, when he had brought up the topic of Uchiha Madara. At first, he thought it was a coincidence and that she was simply being temperamental. It was peculiar, he thought, yet it all slowly began to add up. Now, he realized, that the cause of her aggression was one Uchiha Sasuke.

Sasori replayed in his mind the way Sakura had vehemently blamed Sasuke the night before. _'But for what?'_ He asked himself, his brows knitting together. _'What did the younger Uchiha do to incite her anger?'_

The crevices of his mind was filled up with different theories as he tried to figure out the human puzzle that stood a few feet away from him.

_'What happened before her incarceration?'_

From the corner of his eye, Sasori saw Shizune approaching him with a wrapped package in her hands. "What's that?" He asked, curiously eyeing the parcel.

"Medical supplies, water, and some snacks for the journey." Shizune beamed, "The both of you will be traveling for almost a week, so I prepared this for you." With that said, she offered the package to him, to which he gladly accepted.

"Thank you," He chuckled, "But I doubt this will even last us a day, especially with her big appetite." He gave a pointed look to the pinkette, who was just about to pull away from her mother.

Shizune laughed. "I suppose so."

Tsunade and Sakura trudged towards them. "I heard that, by the way." Sakura flatly said, giving him an equally flat stare.

"Oh, did you?" Sasori flippantly replied. He turned away and began to strap Shizune's package onto his horse's saddle. "It's the truth though. You do eat like a mammoth."

"Go to hell."

Tsunade and Shizune chuckled to themselves. If only their sassy princess knew who had been feeding her the past month.

* * *

 

Several hours had gone by, and judging by the positioning of the sun, Sasori guessed that it was around the tenth hour. The two of them had been trekking down a road within a vast forest, occasionally stopping by streams to rest and have a quick drink. The first time they made a stop was an hour after they had left the vicinity of Konoha, which was around the seventh hour of the day. Sakura had gotten hungry and had grabbed Shizune's package from his saddle. Sasori didn't blame her; they had left without eating breakfast. And so, having been as famished as her, he ate with her.

To their dismay, they had finished the water and snacks that Shizune had provided them. In all honesty, Sasori wanted to kick himself. "Forget lasting us a day," He grumbled under his breath. "It didn't even last us two hours."

"Don't blame me," Sakura shrugged, nonchalantly waving her hand. "Can't call me fat if you ate with me too."

Sasori groaned. The red-headed prince closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. They had agreed to meet Itachi within a week, yet their rations were already done within the first hour of the trip. He could always opt to hunt the wildlife, but frankly speaking, he didn't want to put that much effort into searching for food. He could survive without food for a day. Sakura on the other hand... He was sure as hell his princess companion was too lackadaisical to even think about hunting the wildlife.

What bothered him the most, was the idea of being late. He hated waiting for others, but he absolutely despised being late himself the most. How could one be snippy about tardiness, when he himself was tardy? What the hell was he going to tell Itachi? _'Sorry we're late, your princess was starving and was too lazy to go hunting so I had to feed her myself.'_ Sasori inwardly scoffed. The normally stoic Uchiha man would surely laugh at him.

"How about this," He suddenly said, eyes open again. "There's a town not far from here. Let's stop there, restock, and then rest for the night." He suggested.

Sakura hummed as she took his suggestion into consideration. The idea of having a bed to sleep on for the night was very, very appealing to her. "Let's do that."

It took them another hour of travelling through the forest to reach their destination. The town was fairly large in size, but not as enormous compared to Konoha. Each dwelling was constructed out of wood, the roofs made out of red tiles. As Sakura looked around, she noticed small boutiques on every block, ranging from clothing to delicate jewelry. Every other establishment was either an inn, a tavern, or a weapons shop. Despite the town being small in size, the townspeople were just as energized as the people at the capital. It amazed Sakura to see how happy the people were. _'How do they do that?'_ She inwardly grumbled.

She called to her red-headed travel partner, who rode his horse beside her. "So what's the plan?"

Sasori hummed as he looked around. "Let's find an inn first," He murmured. "Then we can shop for our supplies and whatnot."

Even though he had said that, they had quite a difficult time finding an inn with an available room for them. After their visit to the second inn, the owner was kind enough to inform them that it was touring season. After the third inn, and then the fourth, they finally came upon one that had a vacant room.

"A room for me," An irritated Sasori pointed out the window, his finger hovering on Sakura, who was patiently waiting outside with their horses. "And for her."

"Ah," The innkeeper nodded. "For you and your wife?"

"She's not my w-"

"You're quite lucky, young lad," The innkeeper hummed, flipping through his book. "I have one last vacant room."

Sasori sighed, his shoulders slowly drooping from exhaustion. _'To hell with it.'_ Then he said, "I'll take it."

"Then I shall prepare the room for you right away," As the innkeeper said that, he humbly bowed his head.

"Thank you," Sasori mumbled, handing several coins over to the innkeeper. "We need to do some quick shopping, so we'll be back later."

With that said, he left the inn to inform the pink-haired girl waiting outside. Afterwards, they left behind their mares at the inn's stable. With their traveling packs on them and cloak still intact, the royal-blooded duo began to venture the town by foot. Remembering that he had gotten a glimpse of the current time from the inn's clock, Sasori turned to Sakura. "It's noon," He started. "Let's eat, before we do anything else." After all, it had been almost five hours since they feasted on the snacks Shizune had provided them. Their supplies could wait a few more hours.

"Agreed," Grinned Sakura.

Minutes later, they found a tavern. The establishment was quite lively, as it was bustling with hungry civilians that were ready to have their midday meal. Waitresses were seen making beelines from one table to another, swiftly taking each patron's order, along with delivering the tavern's cuisine. Sakura's nose wrinkled in dismay as she witnessed several men chugging liquor out of their large glass mugs.

The two of them were now quietly dining on the food they had ordered.

"So," Sakura began, chewing on a piece of sauced up meat. "Where are we meeting Itachi again?"

"At the border of Rain Country."

The pinkette's brows knitted together. "Rain Country?" She repeated.

"That's right," Nodded Sasori. "That's where the organization is based, and where we will carry out our mission." He took a sip of water from his cup and then continued, "While you participate in the battle royale, Itachi and I will continue to hunt for clues about Madara's whereabouts."

"Diligent, aren't you?"

"Diligent and meticulous," Sasori smirked, "That's how we've survived without getting caught these past six years."

"I applaud you, dear prince. Your hard work and dedication is highly appreciated."

"Why, thank you, dear princess."

An amused huff escaped Sakura, her emerald eyes filled with mirth. She didn't know why, but she found her banters with the red-haired prince to be quite enjoyable, even if he came up to be the winner majority of the time. Yet, it didn't bother her that he was winning most of their verbal altercations. After all, no one had bit back the way he did so far, and that delighted her.

Sasori on the other hand, was equally amused. The princess that sat before him never ceased to amaze him. Where other girls were demure and had a hobby of picking flowers, Sakura was bold, and had a knack for handling weapons made for killing. As much as he hated to admit it, he quite enjoyed her companionship.

"Well," Sasori cleared his throat. He settled down his eating utensils and took another sip of water from his cup. "I believe it is time we leave."

Sakura agreed.

After Sasori had paid, he inquired about the marketplace to the tavern owner. Once the directions were given, the two of them departed and made way to their new destination. Upon arriving, they saw many vendor stalls, each and every stall set with a sole purpose of selling products harvested from nature and livestock. Every other stand sold shiny jewelry and trinkets.

They went from one stall to another, purchasing fruits, bread, and cheese. Sakura had snagged a coin from him and managed to buy herself a small bag of chocolate, to which Sasori exasperatedly rolled his eyes.

As Sasori was in the middle of purchasing two large jugs of water for their travels, Sakura heard cheering and hooting a few distances away. Curious, she left his side and began to walk towards the noise. _'What's going on?'_

She found herself among a crowd of cheering spectators, all watching a public spar between two men. The men were both wearing basic tunics and pants, however one had a bandanna around his forehead, while his opponent had a prominent scar on his face.

Standing beside her, an old man muttered to her, "Is this yer first time seein' somethin' like this young lady?"

Sakura blinked. "I suppose," She said, feigning innocence. The stranger didn't have to know who she really was, or what she carried underneath her cloak. "Who are they?" She asked, pointing to the two brawling men.

"Ah," He hummed. "A travelor, I see." He then pointed to the man with the bandanna. "That lad over there, Hanamura Dai, is quite popular if I do say so myself, bein' one of the top street fighters in town." Then he pointed to the man with the scar on his face. "However his opponent, Iga Ranshou, is a war veteran."

Dai closed his fist and pumped strength into it. He swung his arm back before aiming his fist directly at his opponent's face. To his dismay, his opponent was swift enough to dodge it by simply sidestepping.

Ranshou grabbed onto Dai's extended arm with one hand, and with the other he slammed an open palm against Dai's stomach. As Dai heaved over from the impact, Ranshou's fingers curled inwards, the fabric of Dai's tunic enclosed tightly in his palm. Then he hoisted Dai up into the air and proceeded to drop the younger man onto the ground.

The crowd cheered once more as Dai's body met the ground. He coughed several times before quickly rolling away, dodging relentless kicks from Ranshou. His fingers dug into the ground, gathering dirt into his palms. He threw his arm upwards, the dust flying out of his palms and into Ranshou's eyes.

As Ranshou blinked away the dust, Dai took advantage of the opportunity he had created to lift himself off of the ground. While his opponent was still distracted, Dai charged at him, delivering a straight kick to Ranshou's chest and sending him flying a few meters away.

"Impressive."

Sakura whipped her body around and came face to face with Sasori. After the red-headed prince seemingly lost his princess companion, he had went around the marketplace in search for her. That was, until he came upon the excessive cheering emanating from the crowd that surrounded the two brawling men, and spotted his target within the crowd.

"Isn't it, young lad?" The old man beside them chuckled. "If ye want to see somethin' even better though, I do recommend ye visit the Sparrow Tavern later t'night."

Sasori and Sakura met eyes before turning their attention back onto the old man. "What do you mean?" Sasori slowly asked.

"In the basement of the Sparrow Tavern," The old man began, "A competition is held once a month."

Sakura perked up, her interest piqued.

"The best fighters in town along with travelin' mercenaries participate in this competition," The man continued. "The challenge is to take down the reignin' champion with yer bare fists. Weapons ain't allowed." Then he added, "If ye win, the prize is a whoppin' hundred gold coins."

"Reigning champion?" Sakura echoed.

The old man nodded. "He's a big brute if I do say so myself," He shuddered. "A monster if anythin'. He's a mercenary that visits the town once a month just for this competition. No one has been able to beat him these past six months."

The idea of beating down a mere mercenary and earning money at the same time appealed to Sasori. His eyes slowly came down onto Sakura, knowing full well how interested the pinkette was. However, he knew it wasn't the loot she was interested in, but rather the fight itself. She turned to him, and mouthed, " _Can we?_ "

Sasori sighed. He turned to the old man. "What time does it start?"

The old man laughed and gave an encouraging punch to Sasori's shoulder. "Comin' to watch aye? Knew it would catch yer interest." Moving closer to Sasori, the man whispered, "It begins at the twentieth hour."

 

* * *

After the street brawl had ended, Sasori and Sakura continued venturing the town, going from one shop to another. They had even dropped by a weapons shop to ask the blacksmith to sharpen their weapons, later coming back to pick up their newly sharpened blades. By the time the hands of the clock tower struck the nineteenth hour, they hurriedly made their way back to the inn to drop off their groceries. With Sakura waiting outside, Sasori briefly instructed the innkeeper to put their groceries, along with their weaponry that hid inside their baggage, up in their room. Then he left the area with Sakura once more.

It didn't take them long to find the Sparrow Tavern. It was the only establishment in town that currently attracted a lot of attention. Excited civilians entered the tavern, ready to eat their evening meal.

Sakura squinted her eyes. "Hey," She pulled on Sasori's sleeve.

"Hm?"

She pointed to the side of the tavern, where a crowd seemed to build up. "I think that's the door to the basement."

Sasori's eyes followed to where she pointed. Hooded mercenaries and rough-looking men loitered around the side entrance of the tavern, slowly entering the tavern one by one. From what he could see, there were stairs descending into the tavern. "Let's follow them." He said.

They joined the crowd and waited for their turn to enter the tavern. As the folks behind them pushed and shoved, Sasori held onto Sakura's forearm, not wanting to lose her in the crowd. After fifteen minutes of waiting, a slow, irritated sigh escaped Sasori as they had successfully slipped into the tavern basement.

Upon entering, they saw booths lining the walls, along with many tables and chairs that filled up the room. Placed at the center was a large stage meant for fighting, elevated from the ground by wood. On all four sides of the stage, were stairs that were also made out of wood. Asides from the bright lighting above the stage, the rest of the basement was rather dreary and dark. Sasori and Sakura found a vacant table not too far from the stage, and sat down.

Not too long after they sat down, a man climbed onto the stage.

"Welcome," He began, "To the Sparrow Tavern's annual monthly fight club!"

Cheers and hoots erupted from all around the room. Sasori had to wonder if the civilians dining on the floor above them could hear all of the noise.

"The rules are the same," The announcer continued, "Fists only, no weapons!" Then he motioned to one corner of the room, on the other side of where Sasori and Sakura sat. He pointed to a massive, hulking man that took up the space of a whole booth. "The challenge is to defeat Goro, our reigning champion of six months!"

Goro stood from his seat and began to trample towards the stage. Once he reached the stage, he heaved himself upwards to stand on top of it next to the announcer.

Recalling the old man's words from earlier that day, Sakura frowned. "The old guy wasn't lying when he said that the champion was a big brute," She muttered, eyeing Goro's height and body mass. ' _How is the stage not collapsing yet?'_

Beside her, Sasori murmured, "Size doesn't mean everything in a fight."

"Now," The announcer raised his voice. "Is there anyone willing to challenge Goro tonight?!"

Whispers circulated around the room, as the crowd eagerly waited for the first challenger to step up. Seconds later, a man stood up from his seat not too far away from Sasori and Sakura. The crowd cheered once more as the man sauntered onto the stage.

After the announcer climbed off of the stage, Goro and his first challenger shook hands. Once they had let go of each other, Goro smacked his palms together and lifted his arms in the air. Before the challenger could react, Goro's fists swiftly came down on him, slamming him down onto the stage floor.

Sasori and Sakura both straightened up in their seats, alarmed at the sudden attack. The crowd around them was quiet, having also been stunned by Goro's fast blow. The announcer climbed back onto the stage and examined the body that lay still on the stage floor. After deeming the challenger unconscious, he motioned to Goro and yelled, "Winner!"

A beat later, the crowd cheered. The fight had ended before it even started.

"Fists only, and no weapons," Sasori chuckled lowly, "But a whole lot of dirty fighting."

An hour went by as Sasori and Sakura watched the one-sided duels between Goro and his challengers. One challenger came up after another, each of them brave enough to challenge the giant man. One man was thrown off of the stage and had collided against the wall before falling unconscious. Another man was punched into oblivion. Despite brawling for an hour without rest, Goro did not look like he was exhausted at all. ' _This is child's play to him,_ ' Sasori mused.

After the body of a recent challenger was dragged off the stage, the announcer spoke up once more. "Is there anyone else brave enough to have a try at Goro?!"

Sakura surged out of her seat, her hand shooting up into the air. Without another word, she pulled her hood off and gleefully made her way to the stage.

As Sasori watched her swagger onto the stage, he face-palmed. "Of course," He muttered under his breath. "Of course we're not here just to watch."

The announcer squinted his eyes as he examined Sakura. "A woman?" He said, skeptically eyeing her up and down. Whispers were heard all around the basement once more as the crowd talked amongst themselves. Slowly, cackles erupted as they realized that the newest challenger was indeed a woman. "Listen, little lady," He chuckled. "It's not a good idea for someone as tiny as you," He pointed to Goro, "To fight a guy as big as him."

Sakura shrugged and lazily waved her hand, "I don't care."

The announcer frowned at her. Was the girl daft? Or perhaps a little nuts in the brain? He took a deep breath. "Little mi-"

"Get off the stage before I make you."

The announcer sighed, before turning on his heel to head down the stairs. If the girl died, it was her fault, not his.

With the announcer out of the way, Sakura turned towards Goro and smiled at him. Then she thrust her arm out towards him, her palm open. "Let's shake hands," She cheerfully said.

Goro blinked. He eyed her open palm, and then Sakura's smiling face. Seconds later, he erupted in laughter, the audience laughing along with him. The girl was definitely insane. "Fine," He gruffly said, stretching his own arm out. "Let's shake hands."

As their hands came in contact, Sakura's dainty smile transformed into a vicious grin. Sakura kicked against the floor and leaped upwards, using his still outstretched hand as a booster. Goro's eyes widened as he watched her fly into the air. Before he could move, her right foot came down on him and she landed a drop kick on his head. The impact was thunderous as Goro crashed headfirst onto the stage floor. On the other hand, Sakura had elegantly landed back on her feet a few steps away from him.

Sasori frowned at her from where he sat. _'Did she just...?'_

Meanwhile, silence enveloped the room as spectators all around were completely stunned. Goro, the reigning champion of six months, had just been thrown down by a mere girl with pink hair.

A low growl emitted from Goro's body as he hoisted himself off of the floor. "You," He seethed.

"I'm sorry," Sakura mocked, "Was that too dirty for you?"

A low chuckle escaped Sasori as he leaned back against his chair, his eyes locked on his princess companion. ' _Oh, she did.'_

Goro charged at her and swung his fist. Sakura fell backwards and landed on the floor, watching as his fist swiped at the air where her head had just been. From her position on the floor, she pulled her feet back and hurled a kick to the juggernaut's stomach. As the giant man lurched from the impact, Sakura took the chance to get back up on her feet. However, she wasn't fast enough. Having already recovered from her kick, Goro wrapped his arms around her and threw her down.

Sakura's breath left her as her body collided with the stage floor. A series of coughs escaped her as she pulled herself up. "You're lucky I don't have my weapons," She hissed, her body swaying to the side.

Goro ignored her and aimed his fist at her once more. She swiftly side-stepped his punch and jabbed at his eyes with her index and middle finger. As Goro screamed and clutched his face, Sakura twisted her body around, lifted her left leg upwards, and delivered a roundhouse kick to his right temple. Goro staggered, now dizzy from the impact.

However, Sakura didn't stop there. While her left foot was still in the air, she placed it onto Goro's right shoulder. She pumped strength into her right leg and leaped into the air. With another twist of her body, she pulled her right leg over and slammed her foot against his temple... The very same one that she had just kicked with her left foot.

A beat later, Goro collapsed onto the floor, unconscious from the repeated attack on the side of his head. Standing near his body, was Sakura, having just landed on her feet.

The announcer rushed onto the stage and knelt by Goro. After examining Goro's condition, he stood up and made his way to Sakura. He nervously eyed her and cleared his throat. "I-If I may have your hand, please?" He whispered to her, his palm stretched out.

Sakura sighed and placed her hand in his.

Grabbing onto her hand, the announcer lifted her hand upwards, and yelled, "We have a new winner!"

The audience roared, each person standing from their seats to clap at her. It was quite deafening, having been louder than the first few cheers that night. Sakura's eyes roamed the crowd, in search for a certain someone.

Highly impressed by Sakura's performance, Sasori had also decided to stand and clap with the crowd.

"Quite a lady ain't she?" Whistled a voice from beside him.

Sasori blinked. He turned to his side and came face to face with the old man they had met in the marketplace earlier that day. Then he noticed Sakura waving at him from the stage. Sasori smiled lightly and returned her wave. "She is," He murmured.

"Is she yers?"

"No."

"Ah," Hummed the old man, "A shame."

Sasori raised a brow. "Is it?"

The old man shrugged. "The way I see it," He started, "She's the type that will recklessly die for her cause. If ye don't claim her soon, she'll disappear before ye know it." The old man patted Sasori's shoulders. "Good luck, young lad." Without another word, the old man turned on his heel and walked away.

Sasori watched the old man's retreating figure for a few seconds before his hazel eyes landed on Sakura once more. As he watched his princess companion happily accept her prize money, he wondered to himself, how would it feel if she ever disappeared from his life?

* * *

 

After Sakura had finished collecting her prize money, Sasori and Sakura headed upstairs to dine at the Sparrow Tavern. Once they had finished their evening meal, they made their way back to the inn, ready to turn in for the night.

Upon entering the inn, the innkeeper greeted them with a gentle smile. "Welcome back," He humbly bowed. "It seems you and your beautiful wife had a lovely outing today."

Sasori froze on the spot. Beside him, Sakura hissed, "Wife? You told him I was your _wife_?"

"I had no choice," He whispered back, "He only had one room left, and I sure as hell did not want to spend another hour looking for rooms for the both of us."

Before Sakura could say any more, he cleared his throat and smiled at the innkeeper. "Yes," He said, "We had a lovely day, thank you." He grabbed onto her arm and pulled her closer to him. "May I ask where our room is?"

The innkeeper handed the keys to their room to Sasori. "Second floor, the sixth room."

"Thank you," Sasori flashed another smile before dragging Sakura along with him.

Once he found their room, he unlocked the door and pulled the grumbling princess inside. The room wasn't too small, yet it wasn't large either. Against one wall was their groceries and the bag that contained their weapons. On the other side, was a door that most likely led to the bathroom. Near the window was a small couch, and of course, positioned near the middle of the room, was one lonely bed.

"You're not going to hog the bed," Sakura slowly turned to face him. "Are you?"

Sasori frowned, "Well, I'm not going to sleep on the couch either."

A moment later, it was agreed to share the bed between the both of them. Frankly speaking, they were both too tired to argue over their sleeping arrangements. The lights had been turned off. Darkness devoured the room, save for the moonlight that shined through the window. They laid side by side with their backs to each other in silence, the blanket pulled over their bodies.

"How much did you hear last night?"

Sasori blinked, before turning his body over to look at her. "Pardon?" He slowly asked.

"Last night," She quietly repeated, her eyes meeting his. "At the castle. I know you were listening."

Realization dawned him as he remembered the conversation that he had come upon between Sakura and Sasuke. He wanted to kick himself for forgetting about her sharp senses. Sasori chewed on his lip as he debated whether or not to tell her the truth. A beat later, "Everything." He murmured, "I heard everything."

"I see."

It was quiet once more, and Sasori could tell that she was drowning in her thoughts. After a few minutes, she said, "I'm sure you've met the lord of the Yamanaka clan before."

Sasori racked his brain, in search for said clan lord's name. "Yamanaka Inoichi."

Sakura nodded. "He had a daughter," She whispered.

At that, Sasori's eyebrows furrowed. ' _Had?'_

"She was my best friend," Sakura continued, her voice soft and full of sorrow. She turned to her side to face him.

"She was loud and obnoxious, but she had a very beautiful heart."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spent my entire day off today writing the second half of this chapter in between 3 naps and many rounds of video games.
> 
> I have no idea how this chapter came to be 5k+ in words, considering how I had no idea what the hell I was doing with the fighting scenes.
> 
> Also, I love SasoSaku interactions. I live for them.
> 
> Thanks again for reading!
> 
> R&R~


	5. Memory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note that this is a flashback chapter!!

 

Konoha's manpower consisted of two factions.

With Uchiha Fugaku as the commander general, he was entrusted the royal army by the queen herself. Majority of the soldiers enlisted in the royal army were posted within the castle, to patrol the vicinity and guard the queen and the castle's inhabitants. If they were not part of the castle guards, then they were sent outside of the country, where they would partake in wars against enemy nations. These soldiers generally wore uniforms that were colored green, with the Konoha insignia embroidered on their left sleeve. These soldiers also carried regular battle swords with them.

Then there was the small selection of talented men and women, all of which were hand picked by the queen herself.

The ANBU operated very differently compared to the royal army. They moved in the shadows, carrying out dangerous dirty work that most foot soldiers would not dare to do. From poisoning, to cold blooded murder, majority of their work happened to fall into the category of assassination. In order to blend into the night, these men and women donned black armored suits, with weapons hidden all over them. A common trait of the ANBU was the porcelain animal masks that each assassin wore, along with a distinct red tattoo on their arm.

Ever since she was ten-years-old, imperial princess Sakura did not wish to simply sit and play dress up with her maids in her room. Instead, she wished to fight for her mother, and for her people. Her mother on the other hand, had insisted that she didn't partake in such dangerous activities, for she was too young. However, the princess herself had put her foot down and fought back with her mother.

"This is for you," Sakura had softly said. "I wish to protect you, my mother, and what you stand for."

Upon recognizing the courage and passion within Sakura, Tsunade conceded. Thus, the young princess was taught how to fight, along with many things that normal princesses her age would never dare to learn.

Her combat teacher was a famous man, well known for having fought and detained over a thousand criminals. Yet, upon meeting him, Sakura's first impression of him was rather... lackadaisical.

Despite his reputation, Hatake Kakashi was an aloof man that was always late to their training. He wore a black cloth mask that covered three-fourth of his face, including his right eye. Wrapped around his forehead, was a black bandanna that kept the front of his hair out of his face. Some say that his right eye was taken during a war between Konoha and another country. Others say that he had been sleeping and an assassin had snuck into his quarters, taking Kakashi's right eye instead of his life. Sakura however, did not question it.

Asides from herself, Kakashi was also entrusted two other children to personally train.

Uchiha Sasuke was a rather confident boy, being the second son of the royal army's commander, along with being the little brother of ANBU's star soldier, Itachi. However, because his father and elder brother were so busy with their own duties, they were unable to train the younger Uchiha in the art of battle. For some peculiar reason, Sakura found herself drawn towards the Uchiha boy. She had a feeling that he was interested in her too.

On the other hand, was Uzumaki Naruto, a hyperactive blond boy who had lost his parents in the previous war. Now he was under the guardianship of Umino Iruka, a close companion of Kakashi's. Even though he was overly happy and was very lacking in terms of brain power, she quite enjoyed his company as a friend and as a brother.

Every day, the children were taught hand-to-hand combat, along with how to handle certain weapons. During the evening, they had lessons on battle tactics with Iruka, and every other night, Sakura would learn about medications and healing from her mother. Sometimes, she would watch as her mother met with ambassadors from other countries, occasionally spying a red-headed boy that often accompanied his grandmother.

The training was brutal, but to the Konoha princess, it was worth it. Everything was for her mother, for her friends, and for her people.

Three years after the three children started training together, Kakashi had suggested they continue their training outside of the castle.

"Survival training," The silver-haired instructor had smiled at them, "Perhaps on a secluded island?"

After gaining Tsunade's permission, the four of them departed for an island located distances away from the Fire Country's port city. There, the twelve-year-olds had learned how to prepare fires, how to find their own food, along with fighting on uneven terrain, or under serious weather conditions.

"Expect the unexpected," Kakashi had wisely told them. Afterall, death could come at them when they least expected it.

Once in a while, the lazy instructor would allow them to travel back to the port city to have some fun. He had reasoned that restricting the children from life's pleasure for such a long period of time was just plain wrong. For that, the children were grateful towards him.

After a year of training on the island, and another year spent traveling the nation, they decided it was time to head back home. From then on, fourteen-year-old Sakura had insisted that she partake in royal army activities, with Sasuke and Naruto in cohesion with her. Tsunade was of course against the idea, but in the end she caved in once more to her only daughter's wishes.

Despite being the imperial princess, she was spectacular on the battlefield. As if she was dancing a graceful waltz with her enemies, she would twist and turn, before stabbing her enemies left and right. She was also rather impulsive and sassy, yet she was well respected among her peers. She didn't take royal treatment, nor did she treat her comrades unfairly.

Two years after Sakura had joined the royal army, Tsunade had ordered a gathering. It was a rather small gathering, with approximately twenty people in total, including Sasuke, Naruto, and herself. Just like the trio, majority of the people inhabiting the chamber were either sixteen or seventeen years of age. Judging by the hushed, confused whispers, no one knew the reason why they had been summoned.

"Sakura!"

The pinkette turned around, in search of the owner of the bubbly voice that called out to her. From across the chamber, she could see a blonde girl wave at her. Sakura smiled and waved back. "Ino!"

Yamanaka Ino was one of the most beautiful girls within the royal army ranks, her long blonde hair pulled up into a high ponytail, while her baby blue eyes shined with mischief. She was also the only daughter to Yamanaka Inoichi, a leader of the interrogation unit that worked deep within the castle prisons.

Asides from that, she was also Sakura's best friend.

The two had known each other since they were little. Inoichi had brought his daughter to the castle every day for them to play together, while he was working in the prisons. At the time, while Sakura was simply interested in Sasuke, Ino had developed a crush on him at the same time. They had talked to each other about their feelings, and came to the conclusion that they would still be friends regardless of whether or not Sasuke courted one of them.

Ino pushed past several other soldiers while moving towards Sakura. Once she reached her pinkette friend, the two girls quickly embraced each other.

"How's your father?" Sakura asked, gently patting Ino's back.

Ino rolled her eyes as the two girls separated from each other. "Same old, same old. He still won't let me enter the underground prisons." Then with a pout, she added, "He said it's too early for me."

Sakura giggled, "Again?" She patted Ino's back again.

"Better safe than sorry," Chimed a voice.

Standing behind Sakura was Naruto and Sasuke.

With a bright grin, Naruto continued on, "I'm sure he'll let you join soon."

Sasuke nodded in agreement. "Just be patient." He muttered.

Ino's lips twisted in disdain. "I suppose," She said with another pout.

The large wooden doors of the chamber began to open. Seconds later, Tsunade stepped inside and swiftly made her way to the center of the chamber, Shizune and Fugaku following her steps. The young warriors immediately straightened up, their attention on the three adults that stood before them.

Tsunade's hazel eyes scanned over each and every warrior that she had summoned to the meeting. Spotting her pink-haired daughter, she held her gaze for a few seconds, before moving onto the next lad. The blonde queen cleared her throat. "Today I have called all of you here," Tsunade began, "To offer you an invitation to ANBU."

Confused stares and curious murmurs erupted within the chamber.

Nudging Sakura a few times, Ino excitedly whispered to her, "ANBU?! Isn't that amazing?!"

The pinkette agreed. After all, you had to be talented and strong, with an equally strong devotion for the nation in order to be invited to ANBU. Sakura was also surprised at the fact that she was on the list to become a potential ANBU warrior, despite being the imperial princess. Perhaps it was a test from her mother to see how far she would go to serve her country. Perhaps it was a test to see whether or not she would stop being a warrior, and start being a proper princess. Sakura's gaze lingered on the figure of her mother. _'What are you thinking?'_

The two girls perked up as they heard Naruto utter to Sasuke, "Isn't your brother part of ANBU?"

"Aa."

"Aw crap," Naruto grinned, "How cool is that? We get to see the famous Uchiha prodigy in person!"

"Itachi has been gone on a mission since two years ago." Sasuke coolly said, his arms crossed against his chest. "He won't be back any time soon."

At that, Naruto's grin was quickly replaced by a disappointed pout. "Oh."

Sakura let out an amused huff, and Ino giggled.

Upon noticing the irritation that grew on her mother's features, Sakura quickly motioned to her friends, her finger placed on her lips. "Shh."

"Excuse me," Hyuuga Neji raised his hand, catching the attention of his peers. He was a boy with long brown hair and pearl eyes, and was also known for being quite cold to his peers.

"You may speak," Tsunade nodded.

"May I ask," He started, "What ANBU is, and what the purpose of ANBU is?"

Others around him began to chatter between themselves again, all of them very curious to hear more detail about the famous, yet mysterious organization.

Soon enough, Tsunade cleared her throat, catching the attention of the rest of the chamber's inhabitants. Once the mass settled down, Tsunade's began to speak. "ANBU is an organization created for the sole purpose of carrying out deeds in the shadows," She explained, her hazel eyes carefully scanning through her audience. "Majority of these deeds will be assassination and espionage."

"You will be trained for these missions," Her voice echoed around the chamber. "But there is a much higher chance of you losing your life while working within the ANBU."

"I chose you all because you are the best of the best within your generation," Tsunade continued slowly and firmly, "However, I will not force you to join. Whether or not you choose to directly serve me and carry out these bloody missions, is entirely up to you."

In the end, a total of twelve people accepted the invitation to join ANBU, including Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto, and Ino. The other eight soldiers had decided not to join ANBU, and thus resumed their regular duties within the royal army.

A month later, Sakura and Sasuke began to court each other.

* * *

 

Another two years had quickly flown by, and Sakura was now at the ripe age of eighteen. Her reputation exceeded her, not only as a blooming imperial princess of the country, but also as a well-known and brave warrior. Many have heard of her good deeds; from saving traveling peddlers from greedy bandits, to preventing a notorious band of pirates from looting an entire port city. In the shadows, she was a deadly assassin. Hidden behind a beautiful fox mask made of white ceramic, she poisoned noblemen after uncovering their treachery against her mother, and murdered adversaries from other nations.

At the same time, she was also being courted by Sasuke, who was also quite famous for his prowess with the sword, along with being quite handsome.

They were always seen together or near each other, either enjoying a day off in each other's presences, or fighting back to back on the battlefield. Many men were jealous of Sasuke for courting Sakura, who they had thought was unattainable. Many women were jealous of Sakura for being in a relationship with Sasuke, yet they could not raise their hand against the royal princess. However over time, these people came to realize that the two were quite beautiful together.

As Sasuke and Naruto sparred with each other in the open field behind the castle, Sakura and Ino were resting nearby under a large oak tree, having just finished their own bout.

"You're so lucky," Ino sighed as she slouched over, her elbow on her legs, and the palms of her hands underneath her chin.

"Lucky?" Sakura repeated, chuckling lightly. "For what?"

With her other hand, Ino pointed at Sasuke, who had successfully landed a kick against Naruto's right side. "That." She continued on with a wistful sigh, "It's been two years and you're still going strong."

Sakura's lips moved as she silently repeated her friend's words again, her eyes slowly travelling from Ino's finger to its target. After her emerald eyes landed on her beau, she blinked several times before exploding in a fit of giggles. "I suppose." After a thought, she smiled teasingly. "You know, a few weeks ago he gave me an emerald necklace for my birthday."

Ino's eyes widened in horror. Her hands flew up and slammed against her ears. "No!" She shrieked, "I can't hear you!"

At her friend's display of outrageous behaviour, Sakura's giggles turned into hearty laughs.

"Don't laugh," Ino whined. "At least you _have_ a sweetheart. My sweetheart is still nonexistent!"

"That's because you're picky," Sakura rolled her eyes. "Beggars can't be choosers, Ino." She stretched her arm towards Ino, patting her blonde friend on the shoulder. "Just be patient." She said wisely.

"Be patient about what?"

Sakura and Ino both blinked at the newly arrived presence. They both turned around, only to meet a smiling Sai, who was standing right behind them. "What are you being patient for, Ino?" He curiously asked.

"Nothing!" Ino spluttered, her hands frantically flying around. "I'm just..." Ino paused, as she tried to think of what to say next. _'No way in hell am I letting other people know I'm waiting for a sweetheart.'_ A beat later, she said, "Hungry. Yes, I'm just hungry!"

"Hungry?" Sai echoed. "If you're hungry, why are you being patient? Should you not go and get something to eat right now?"

"I'm on a diet," Ino replied confidently, "That's why I'm being patient."

Sai's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "I don't think you should diet," He said slowly. Ino's eyes narrowed, and her mouth opened. But before she could say anything, he continued on, "I believe you are already beautiful enough."

Ino gaped at him, her already open mouth dropping even further, and her cheeks flushed a lovely shade of pink. Sakura on the other hand, had her hand over her mouth in mild surprise, her eyes shifting back and forth between her best friend and the straightforward and socially-awkward warrior.

Remembering the purpose of his visit, a quiet "ah" escaped Sai's lips. "The Queen has called for us," He said, his eyes wandering over to Sasuke and Naruto, who were still sparring with each other distances away. "All of us."

Sakura frowned lightly. "All of us?"

Sai nodded, "It seems she has a rather important mission this time if she's calling all of us."

"I see," Sakura sighed. "Thanks for informing us."

"Not at all," He smiled. "I still need to inform the others, so I will be on my way first." With that said, Sai bowed lightly and turned on his heels.

An hour later, Sakura and her friends had found themselves in the meeting hall together with others from their generation. Light chatter and laughter circulated around the chamber as they all waited for the Queen to arrive.

"It's weird seeing all of us in one room," Naruto commented.

Sakura nodded in agreement. It honestly was odd seeing all of them in one room, despite seeing each other on a day to day basis. ANBU warriors worked in groups of twos or threes, never more than that.

Standing beside her, Ino's head tilted to the side as she thought to herself. "When was the last time we were all gathered like this...?"

"When we got invited to ANBU." Sasuke muttered.

Sakura's brows shot up in mild surprise. "You're right," She murmured to her sweetheart. "I wonder what's so important enough for her to gather all of us?"

Sasuke shrugged.

The wooden double doors creaked open as Tsunade entered, with Shizune following behind her. The Queen and her assistant made their way to the center of the meeting hall, just as they had done two years ago when Tsunade had invited them to ANBU. After a quick head count, Tsunade smiled gently at them. "I'm sure you're all curious as to why you've all been gathered here."

Several warriors nodded, others returning a sheepish smile to their monarch.

"I have just received a report regarding the whereabouts of a man that has been causing quite a problem at the border." She explained.

"My Queen," Rock Lee spoke up, "May I ask who this vicious man is?"

Tsunade smiled at the adolescent clad in green and nodded. "His name is Murakami Seizo," She continued, "Town-wide arson, genocide, narcotics and human trafficking," She listed off the top of her mind. "These are some of the crimes that he and his band of criminals has committed over the past three months." Her eyes scanned left to right as she took in the faces of her warriors. "It is believed that he is working under another man, and I want him captured alive for questioning."

Ignoring the mild whispers emitting from her warriors, Tsunade continued on, "I will also designate a leader," She said. Her hazel orbs landed on a particular young man. "Uchiha Sasuke," She called out. "Come forward."

Sasuke straightened in alarm, his eyes on his Queen. Slowly, he separated himself from his companions and began to pace towards her.

"You will lead this operation," Tsunade instructed. Then she smiled at the young Uchiha prodigy. "I trust that this mission will be successful with you at the helm."

Sasuke bowed his head. "I will make sure it happens." He murmured.

Tsunade nodded in approval before focusing her attention on the warriors behind Sasuke. "You are all to leave immediately." Then she added, "This is a good opportunity to work as a whole," She said firmly, "Capitalize on it."

The young ANBU warriors saluted their queen and she dismissed them from the meeting hall. It was now time for lunch, and Sakura and her friends were now walking together towards the banquet hall within the castle.

"Isn't this awesome?!" Ino beamed at Sasuke, "If this mission is successful, she'll hold you in high regards!"

"Don't jinx it," Naruto snickered. "There's a chance that he could fail miserably."

Sakura rolled her eyes at her two friends. She snaked her arm around Sasuke's and gently pulled at it to catch his attention. The stoic man looked down at her, a curious glint in his eyes. "I'm happy for you," She smiled. "I'm sure you'll do great."

"Thank you," He murmured, a small smile on his features. "In the near future, perhaps I will lead the royal army by your side."

Sakura blinked several times, before looking at her sweetheart in surprise. Never before, had he told her of his dreams of the near future, and it surprised her to hear from him that she would be a part of it. "Perhaps," She shrugged, a coy grin plastered on her face. "We shall see what happens."

Sasuke chuckled in reply. "We shall see."

"You guys are _so_ gross." Naruto rolled his eyes.

* * *

 

Over the next few days, Sasuke had called for several meetings with his fellow ANBU warriors, to discuss the mission planning and several tactics that could lead to the success of his mission. Fugaku had heard of the news, and had told him, "To be a great leader, one must also listen to the worries of his men." Then he said, "I expect great results, my son."

So together with Nara Shikamaru, a well known tactician within their generation, and Hyuuga Neji, an equally well known prodigy compared to Sasuke, the three of them spent days and nights carefully planning out each and every move that they would make.

"It seems Murakami is also well-known for," Shikamaru drawled, "Being quite the lecher."

Neji raised a brow. "Lecher?" He repeated. "What do you think we can do with that information?" He flatly asked.

The lazy tactician shrugged, "No idea," He replied, "But-"

"Actually," Sasuke suddenly murmured, interrupting his comrade's speech. "We can do a lot with that piece of information."

Both Shikamaru and Neji both turned to face Sasuke, curiousity written on their faces. "Elaborate," Neji inquired.

"We can use his qualities against him and lure him out with a bait," Sasuke began to lean back against his chair. "While we clean out his hideout, that bait will be right by his side. Then, with that bait, we corner him and capture him on the spot."

As Shikamaru listened to Sasuke's proposition, he hummed to himself. "I suppose it could work," Then he frowned lightly, "But who would be that bait?"

Silence overcame them as they tried to think of the perfect person for the job. Seconds later, Sasuke spoke up. "I will find that person," He said, "So let's focus on the other details."

The other two agreed and they began to brainstorm once more.

Later on that day, Sasuke traveled across the castle grounds in search of one girl. Upon finding her, he quickly made his way towards her and tapped her on her shoulder. "Let's talk."

"This will be the plan," Sasuke's voice echoed through the small meeting hall. It had been a week since Tsunade had assigned them the mission. He was now standing at the front, together with Shikamaru and Neji, with a big board positioned behind them. Before them, were their comrades, ready to hear what the three young men had to say.

"Murakami is a syndicate, with his own crime organization behind him," Sasuke started, "However he is working under another crime lord that we do not know of." He paused, his eyes scanning his audience to make sure he had captured their attention. "His hideout is located at the border between the Fire Country and the Lightning Country."

"We will send in a bait beforehand," He explained, "And then at nightfall, we strike."

"Bait?" Inuzuka Kiba echoed, his animal companion Akamaru beside him. "Who's the bait?"

Before Sasuke could reply, Ino spoke up, "Me."

Sitting beside her, Sakura looked at her blonde friend in bewilderment, before switching her attention onto her beau. ' _What?'_

"Yes," Sasuke nodded, "Ino is the bait."

Whispers could be heard between several people among the crowd. Sasuke frowned lightly, before clearing his throat to capture their attention once more. "Ino will go in as a peace offering from a small village, and will act as the daughter of a lesser noble. Once she gains his trust, she will weaken him with a mild poison."

"Just poison?" Tenten curiously asked. "No weapons?"

"No weapons," Sasuke affirmed. "She'll be caught immediately if she's found with a weapon. Poisons on the other hand, are easier to hide." Turning his attention back to the rest of his comrades, he added, "Meanwhile, we will clean out his hideout as a whole, and then capture him alive for the queen."

Once it was clear that his fellow warriors had understood the basics of his plan, Sasuke turned to Shikamaru and nodded. The tactician returned the nod and stepped forward. "I will now quickly explain the details of our positioning," Then he added, "And because it is better to move in small groups, I will also assign the groupings."

* * *

 

"What in the _seven hells_ are you thinking?" Sakura hissed.

After the mission briefing, Sakura had quickly pulled Sasuke to the side and dragged him to a secluded alleyway located behind the castle, near the hilltops where they would always spar at. To say she was a little ticked off was an understatement. The Konoha princess was _very_ ticked off.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke questioned, his brow raised. What could his sweetheart be irked by this time?

"Why would you send Ino in there by herself?"

Sasuke blinked before frowning at his sweetheart. "Why wouldn't I?"

"You're basically telling her to go and risk her life to seduce a _mass murderer_ with only a mild poison and no weapons to fend for herself." Sakura's emerald orbs narrowed and she ranted on, "And what? After she supposedly weakens him, everything will be fine and dandy? We catch our guy and _that's it?_ " With a fierce glare, she growled at him. "Does that make any _sense_?"

Starting to feel a little irritated, Sasuke pursed his lips. "And what?" He shot back, "What do you suppose we should do then? We leave tomorrow, and the plan is already set." Then he added, "We can't possibly change a plan that took a week to form."

"You don't have to change anything," Sakura interrupted. Before he could say another word, she continued on, "Send me in," She demanded. "Send me as the bait, instead of her."

The Uchiha swordsman narrowed his own slate eyes. "No," He immediately refused. "I am not sending you as the bait."

" _Why_?" She asked incredulously, her pitch rising at the end. Like a stubborn animal, she insisted, "There's a better chance of me surviving, so why not send me in?"

"Because you're the princess," Sasuke hissed. "What princess allows herself to go on a seduction mission?"

Sakura stiffened as his words registered in her mind. As she looked at her sweetheart, she felt an dull ache in her chest. All these years serving her country as a warrior, she never once heard someone other than her mother tell her she couldn't do anything dangerous because she was the imperial princess. And yet, the last person she had wanted to hear it from, was Sasuke himself.

"So what?" She whispered. "So what if I'm the princess? As the princess, I can't help my people? My _friends_?"

"Sakura, no," Sasuke rubbed the bridge of his nose, "That's not it," He sighed. With both hands, he placed them on Sakura's shoulders and gave her a gentle squeeze. "I'm not trying to hold you back," He murmured, "But you are the princess and you are also my beloved," His lips pursed. "And I don't want to send my beloved into a mission like that."

"And so you send Ino," She breathed out heavily. "Because I am indispensable."

Sasuke closed his eyes for a brief moment before opening them once more. "Sakura," He sighed. He pulled her closer and cupped her face in his hands. "Ino will be fine. She's ANBU, just like us. She even said she wanted to do this."

"Regardless," She quietly said, "Anything can happen at any time to her, to me," She locked eyes with him. "And to you." Her gaze fell downwards and she continued, "I don't want to ever think of losing you either. We may be strong, but even the strong will fall one day."

Sasuke pulled her in and gave her shoulders another reassuring squeeze. "We'll be fine," He said softly, "We won't die on a mission like this." When she didn't reply to him, he said, "I will find someone else to send in as bait. Not you, not Ino. I promise." With a small, rare smile that he would show only her, he said, "Okay? Will you please trust me?"

Sakura eyed him carefully, and her lips pursed. Directing her gaze downwards again, she slowly exhaled and nodded. "I trust you," She caved in.

Sasuke's rare smile returned again and he wrapped his arms around her.

* * *

 

A new day had come, and it was time for the young ANBU warriors to depart. Along with the Queen, several senior ANBU warriors had come to wish them luck on their first mission as a whole. "All of you, are the future." One man had wisely said.

As Tsunade embraced Sakura, she whispered into her daughter's ear, "Be careful, my child. Come home safely."

"I'll be fine," Sakura chuckled, "Don't worry."

Tsunade sighed exasperately at her daughter's never ending confidence. "Go on," She smiled, "Your friends are waiting."

After another quick hug, Sakura turned on her heels and jogged towards her comrades. Her emerald eyes scanned the bustling group, in search of one Uchiha Sasuke. Upon finding him together with Naruto, her eyes lit up and her pace quickened.

Naruto noticed her making her way towards them and waved at her. "Hey!"

Once she got closer, Sasuke patted her shoulders. "Are you done saying goodbye?"

The pinkette smiled and nodded. "Let's go." After a quick look around her surroundings, she noticed something, or rather someone, was missing. She tugged at Sasuke's sleeve and pulled her beau closer. "Where's Ino?" She whispered worriedly.

"Ah," Sasuke hummed. "I sent her ahead with Shikamaru and Chouji to scout the area."

"Scout the area?" She echoed.

The young raven-haired man nodded. With a pat against Sakura's forearm, he murmured, "Don't worry."

Sakura's lips pursed and her brows knitted together lightly as she repeated his words over and over again in her mind. A few seconds later, she slowly nodded, despite the mild retching feeling in her gut. "Alright."

It took them approximately four days to reach the border between the Fire Country and the Lightning Country. The young ANBU warriors had separated in groups of threes once they had reached the outskirts of Murakami's hideout.

It was fairly large, with fences made of wood surrounding the vicinity. Within the stronghold, were several huts that were made of wood and hay, and in each and every corner of the fortress were men armed with swords and cutlasses.

Hiding within the forest near the entrance of the hideout were Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto and Sai. Sakura pulled a small hand mirror out of her back pocket. With several quick flicks of her wrist, she reflected the moonlight off of the face of the mirror. Across the forest, she saw the same small and discreet flickers of light, indicating that her comrades were ready. She shoved the mirror back into her pocket and whispered to Sasuke, who was crouching beside her. "They're ready."

Sasuke nodded. "Let's go."

Once the dark of the night had finished blanketing them, they pulled their porcelain masks over their face and readied their weapons. Swiftly and silently, they made their way to the stronghold, now illuminated with large flaming torches perched against the fences and huts.

Upon encountering a man patrolling the vicinity, they silently covered his mouth and quickly took his life and left his body on the spot. After successfully infiltrating the hideout, they hid themselves in the shadows behind a hut. From where they were situated, they could see Neji, Tenten, and Lee hiding in the shadows of the rooftops. Behind a hut on the other side of the fortress, they spotted Hinata, Kiba, and Shino.

"It's a little too quiet," Sai murmured.

Sakura frowned as her eyes shifted left and right, spying a few mercenaries standing watch nearby. She had to agree with her socially-awkward friend; it really was a little too quiet. Perhaps these men were too uptight to crack a few nightly jokes here and there.

"I bet these guys don't know how to have fun," Naruto rolled his eyes, voicing the thoughts that she had seconds ago.

Sasuke motioned at a rather large cabin located on one side of the hideout. "I think that's where Murakami is." Motioning with his hand, he whispered, "Let's go."

They left their hiding spot and shuffled from one hut to another. While they moved, they silently knocked out or killed every single mercenary that they came across. Half way through the compound, they happened upon one man, standing nearby under a light post. Naruto dashed towards him and swiftly pulled him into a head lock with one arm, and covered his mouth with his free hand. Beside him was Sai, dagger in hand.

The mercenary struggled against Naruto's hold, his cries muffled by Naruto's hand. With Sai's dagger coming down on him, the mercenary quickly pulled a dainty container made of fabric, held together by a thick string.

Upon recognizing it, Sakura's eyes widened and she shouted, " _NO!_ "

With the last of his energy, the mercenary squeezed the container in his hands as tightly as possible before he was struck by Sai's dagger. Smoke erupted from the container, and a material covered in flames bursted upwards and into the sky.

Naruto dropped the dead man on the ground. "Wasn't that-"

"A flare," Sasuke hissed.

They heard several footsteps from each corner as the mercenaries gathered together to fend off their intruders. The sounds of fighting could also be heard a few distances away, indicating that their comrades had been discovered.

"What should we do?" Sakura questioned, her eyes scanning around in search of their enemies. It was then that she saw a group of men rounding the corner. A few seconds later, they spotted the young Konoha warriors and began to shout.

Sasuke swore under his breath and unsheathed his sword. "We have no time," He hurriedly said, eyeing the incoming men. "We need to kill them and make our way to that cabin." Gripping the hilt of his sword, he yelled, "Go!"

The four of them scattered and threw themselves into the fray. Daggers in each hand, Sakura leaped into the air and slammed the base of her foot against one man's face. Using his face as a booster, she pumped strength into her feet and dashed towards the next man. Landing on the mercenary's chest, she pushed him down to the ground with her weight and slit his throat with one blade. As he gurgled blood, she got off of him and ran at a third man.

After killing what seemed like the tenth man, she quickly took in her surroundings, in search of her friends. Nearby, she could see Sasuke and Naruto fighting back to back. Sai was a few steps away from them, delivering quick stabs with his short sword. On one rooftop, she could Kiba and Akamaru brawling with three men. Positioned on another rooftop, was Tenten who was sniping their enemies with poisoned arrows. Elsewhere, she heard the sounds of metal clashing and fists colliding.

From the corner of her eye, Sakura saw a cutlass being swung at her. She dodged the blade and swung her own, slashing her assailant's chest. As the man heaved over, she grabbed him by his collar and threw him down.

"Sakura!"

The Konoha princess straightened in alarm, in search for her beau. Spotting him in the throng, she yelled back, "Sasuke!"

"The cabin! _Go for the cabin!_ "

She jammed her blade into the chest of another man before turning on her heels and making a run for it. Noticing a blade aimed for her side, she dropped downwards and slid against the ground. Jamming one dagger into the ground, she propelled herself upwards and twisted her body around. With her other dagger, she slashed at the man before using that very same blade to block another incoming one. She pushed against the blade and disengaged from her foe, quickly rising to deliver a swift kick to his stomach.

It was then that she noticed Shikamaru, fighting just a few steps away from her. From her position, Sakura spotted a mercenary sneaking up behind the tactician, who was busy fending off a man that was armed with a sword. Sakura kicked against the ground and dashed towards him. "Shikamaru!"

With a roar, she threw herself at the mercenary and stabbed him with her blade. Whirling around, she used her other blade and sliced across the swordsman's neck.

"Thanks," Grunted Shikamaru.

"You're welcome," Sakura panted. As she recollected herself, something came to mind. "Where's Ino?" She suddenly asked.

"Ino?" Shikamaru picked up one of his blades from the ground. "She's in the cabin." He replied, "Where Murakami is."

The Konoha princess froze. ' _What?'_

"Actually, I was on my wa-"

"Say that again."

Shikamaru blinked. "What?"

"Say that again," She demanded, a dangerous glint in her eyes.

Shikamaru scratched the back of his head with his free hand. "Don't you remember the plan? Chouji and I were sent first to escort Ino here so that she could act as bait and poison him for us." Motioning to the cabin that seemed so far, yet so close, he continued, "So she's in the cabin right now, with Murakami." With a confused look in his eye, he added, "Don't tell me you forgot about the plan."

"No," Sakura hissed, "I didn't."

Without another word, she turned away from him and sprinted towards the cabin. As she ran, she remembered the words that had left her sweetheart's lips the previous day, along with the words that she had heard not many hours ago.

_"I will find someone else to send in as bait. Not you, not Ino."_

And,

_"I sent her ahead with Shikamaru and Chouji to scout the area."_

And,

_"Okay? Will you please trust me?"_

The more Sakura thought about it, the more her heart ached. He had promised her, and she had placed her trust in him. Yet, he had broken both his promise and her trust by deceiving her. It made her think, _'Is it that easy to lie to me? Am I just foolish, or perhaps just plain naive?'_ And then, ' _Did he ever lie to me in the past?_ '

Upon reaching the cabin, she casted her thoughts away and bounded up the stairway. She threw herself at the wooden door, breaking it open from the force. She rushed inside, her eyes roaming left and right in search for her friend. "Ino," She called out, "Ino!"

Asides from the battle that could be heard from afar, she couldn't hear a single thing within the cabin. And that worried her. "Ino," She tried again, "Ino!" Still, it was eerily silent. The Konoha princess could feel her gut being churned as anxiety overcame her. Spotting a stairway located at the back, she made her way upwards to the second floor. As she ascended, she detected a faint metallic scent. ' _Blood.'_

Having reached the second floor, the smell of blood was stronger than before. Sakura slowly swallowed the saliva that had built up in the back of her throat. ' _Please be safe_ ,' She chanted to herself as she tread the floors slowly. ' _Please, please be safe.'_ Rounding the corner, she came upon a horrifying sight.

Lying still on the ground, was Ino. Her long blond tresses fanned out against the floor, and her baby blue eyes lifeless. Her skin was pale and covered in cuts and bruises. She wore a purple dress, tattered and covered with dark red stains from the blood that seeped out of her. Dribbling from the corner of her lips, was a thin trail of blood.

Murakami Seizo was nowhere in sight.

Sakura's legs wore out on her and she stumbled. As she stared at Ino's lifeless body, she began to feel lightheaded. Seconds later, she keeled over and began to empty her stomach of its contents. As she puked, her eyes began to burn as tears welled up and blurred her vision.

_"I will find someone else to send in as bait. Not you, not Ino."_

_"I sent her ahead with Shikamaru and Chouji to scout the area."_

_"Okay? Will you please trust me?"_

As she mourned the death of her friend, her lover's words replayed in her mind once more. Then a second time, and then a third. Blinded by her affection for the Uchiha man, she threw her trust at him as if it was dispensable. And yet, that one foolish mistake had cost her the life of her best friend. Sakura felt nothing but despair, yet at the same time, she felt an uncontrollable rage build up within her. She wiped her mouth with her sleeve and stood up, her eyes blazing with anger.

With her blades gripped tightly in her hands once more, Sakura hurled herself at the window, shattering the glass into small pieces. However, the impact did not stop her from flying through the window panel. After touching down on the ground, the pinkette kicked against the terrain and began to sprint.

Mercenaries upon mercenaries began to throw themselves at her, each man armed with daggers, swords, and other deadly and sharp weapons. She flew from one man to another, slicing and slashing anyone that came into her field of vision. She kicked against a mercenary and twisted her body upwards, kicking one man at the end of her mid-air twirl and slashing across the face of another man. Landing on her back, she quickly rolled to the side, dodging several knives that were thrown at her head. The pinkette hoisted herself off of the ground and ran once more.

After killing everything and everyone that came in sight, she spotted her target and roared. " _SASUKE_!"

Before he could react, Sakura lunged at him and hurled him to the ground. Nearby, she could hear Naruto and Sai calling out to her in alarm. Surrounding them, were the rest of their comrades, each and every single one of them donning worried expressions. Sasuke on the other hand, was wincing from his impact with his beau. "Saku-"

"How dare you," She hissed, interrupting him. From her mounting position, she glared down at him, her blade inches away from his throat. "How _dare_ you."

Sasuke's brows furrowed. "What are you-"

"What am I talking about?" She sneered. "Why don't you tell me, you _liar_."

It took a moment before realization dawned Sasuke. "Sakura," He said, "Let me explain."

"There is nothing for you to explain," She growled. "You told me that you would pull her out of her role as bait. You deceived me, and sent her in there by herself with nothing to defend herself but a mere poison." As she spoke, her voice got louder and louder. "And now guess what, Uchiha Sasuke? She's _dead_."

Sasuke's eyes widened slightly, his lips pursed.

"I ought to kill you." She sneered, eyeing the blade positioned near his throat. Suddenly, she felt strong arms loop around her waist and pulling her backwards. Turning her head back, she saw Naruto, a worried expression plastered on his face. To her side was Sai, yanking her daggers out of her hands. "What are you doing?" She demanded.

"Sakura," Naruto yelled, "At this rate, you really will kill him!"

"I don't care," She shrieked, clawing at the Uchiha's neck. "Let him die! He killed her! _He killed Ino_!"

While struggling against Naruto's grasp on her, she swiped at Sasuke's neck with her nails, leaving three distinct cuts on the side of his neck. As she watched the blood seep out of the fresh carvings in his skin, she felt Naruto pull her off of Sasuke.

"Traitor," She roared, "Your pride means more to you than the people around you." Her emerald eyes burned with hatred and anger as she stared at his expressionless face. "You are a _traitor_. You don't deserve _friends_."

A painful cry escaped her as she felt something collide against the back of her neck. Seconds later, she began to feel dizzy, and her vision began to blur. "You traitor..." She whispered, her eyes slowly rolling back. "How... could... you...?"

* * *

 

**Two Years Later**

Present Time

* * *

 

"When I woke up, I was in a prison chamber deep within the castle." Sakura murmured. "Later on, I was brought out for judgement. Because of my rampage, it was assumed that I was the one that had killed Ino."

"But you didn't." Sasori frowned. "You didn't kill her."

She gazed at him for a few seconds before smiling bitterly. "I just accepted it. I took the blame anyways, and was sent to the biggest prison in the country."

"Your mother-"

"Couldn't do anything." She finished. "Even royalty can't escape from the law." She softly said. With a small, reassuring smile, she patted his arm. "I'm free now," She said. "I could've been in that prison till the day I died, until you came along and offered me this ridiculous deal." She chuckled.

Sasori didn't say another word. He wanted nothing but to pull her into his arms. At this moment, Sakura was not the witty and sharp-tongued assassin that he knew. At this moment, she was a normal girl, mourning the death of her beloved friend. And so, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him.

The Konoha princess did not say anything either. Sakura was glad that the Suna prince listened to her, and she appreciated his lack of words. Since two years ago, she had not said a word to anyone about the incident along with the truth that hid behind it. Yet, this very night, she had told someone and it was liberating.

With a great weight lifted off of her shoulders, Sakura slowly closed her eyes and fell asleep. For a few moments, Sasori watched as she slept in his arms, before falling asleep himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> can u hear that heavy bREATHIN...
> 
> Ok but forreal, I'm actually so late LOL. I've been pretty stressed out with life the past month, and then it got super busy at work too. Everything's okay now and I'm currently stress-free, thus I was able to finish this chapter.
> 
> OK BUT FORREAL, 8000 WORDS THOUGH. I don't know HOW this chapter came to be 8k words, but I did it. I just hope that the chapters don't get longer and longer because that's a little hardcore tbh.
> 
> Anyways, the truth has been revealed now, and we all know how Ino died and how Sakura came to be incarcerated until Sasori came along. Next chapter, we'll be focusing on the current time line once more.
> 
> I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts and opinions on this chapter please.
> 
> Thank you so much for waiting, and for reading. I'll see you guys next time!
> 
> RR!


	6. Trust

It had been a week since that night, when the both of them were too exhausted to nitpick at who would sleep where and had decided to share the bed on a whim. That very night, the Konoha princess had come out of her shell and had confided in him of the event that landed her in the harshest prison in the country two years prior. In all honesty, the truth that hid behind her imprisonment baffled Sasori to no end.

Why her, the most loyal to her nation?

What of her comrades?

Did they hide behind their pride, just as Uchiha Sasuke had done?

His questions of her incarceration had been answered, however they were now replaced with new and unanswered questions. With each question came more questions, and with each and every question, came bits and pieces of his anger. He was angry for her, and he had also pitied her. She, who had dedicated the majority of her life to serve her nation not as a princess, but as a warrior who risked her life on the battlefield. She, who had loved her nation and her people more than anyone else.

_'Even royalty can't escape the law.'_

Ever since that night, those particular words of hers had echoed in his mind over and over and over again. As much as he hated to admit it, the pink-haired princess was right. Even if they had bent the rules and had escaped the law, karma would hiss and bite at them until death welcomed them in its arms. Regardless of whether or not they were royalty, they were not gods.

' _Yet, even the gods can't escape their own laws.'_  He mused, quickly reminded of several folklore depicting the heavenly beings being damned by their own kind.

As much as he found it unfair, the past was the past, and what was done had been set in stone. In the end, what mattered was the nowadays, along with the pink-haired snarky princess that had been occupying his mind the last few days. He was glad to know that she had trusted in him enough to tell him of her past, and he hoped that she knew that he would always be ready to listen to her.

Before Itachi had departed from Konoha, it had been previously decided by Sasori and Itachi to rendezvous near the border between the Fire Country and the Rain Country by the end of the week. As a precaution, they did not set a specific time for their meeting, nor did they make contact with each other since Itachi's departure. Sasori and Sakura were now idling around in the forest, having been in the area for over a day now. It was a matter of patience, and the Konoha princess and the Suna prince was currently playing the waiting game.

After a night of rest, they had breakfast with the wildlife that Sasori had caught and killed. A while later, they decided to have a light spar with one another, using their bare fists first, and then their blades later on. After two hours of sparring had passed, Sakura took it upon herself to take a nap. Beside her, Sasori watched over her silently while flipping through the pages of his newly aquired art book. When she had woken up from her slumber, they feasted on the snacks that Sasori had purchased at a market the day before.

For the next three hours, they loitered around in boredom until they finally heard rustling from the tall bushes nearby. Sakura tensed up, while Sasori eyed the backwoods with caution. Seconds later, Itachi emerged from the shrubs, a ragged young man following right behind him.

The two royals relaxed at the sight of their comrade. "Took you long enough," Sasori frowned. Sakura rolled her eyes, knowing how impatient the redhead could be.

A small smile crept on Itachi's aloof features. "Apologies, old friend," He murmured, "I got held up along the way."

Sasori grumbled under his breath and Sakura rolled her eyes at him once more. "Who's that behind you?" She asked, her hand lazily motioning to the boy that hid behind Itachi.

The Uchiha prodigy glanced behind him, his black orbs fixed on the boy. "He is my representative for the battle royale."

Stepping out from behind Itachi, the young man licked his lips and smiled nervously. "Hinozuki Ito," He mumbled, introducing himself to the two new strangers. His eyes were a dull shade of brown, his hair shaggy and dark. Ito was fairly tall and lanky, his rough and dirt-stained skin matching the raggedness of his garbs. Attached to the belt of his slacks was a lone rustic dagger.

_'Irrelevant thief from an irrelevant village, indeed.'_  Sasori thought to himself, his eyes scanning Ito up and down.

"You have a good eye for picking up an irrelevant thief from an irrelevant village," Sakura commented out loud. Immediately after, Sasori face-palmed at her straightforwardness.

Amusement twinkled in Itachi's eyes and he chuckled quietly. "Thank you."

Sakura smiled at her vassal, and Sasori sighed.

On the other hand, Ito coughed awkwardly as he watched the them talk about him as if he wasn't even there. However, he didn't really mind. It was true that he was a third-rate thief, having come from a low-born family in the boonies, with no real combat training. He was simply grateful that an opportunity for a better life had been presented to him, even if he may lose his measly life in the process.

As he observed the trio, it didn't take him long to figure that they were experienced on the battlefield. His dull brown eyes moved from the raven-haired man that had plucked him off the streets, to the scowling redhead that stood nearby. It was then that he noticed a shorter figure standing close to the redhead.

Ito's eyes lingered on Sakura as he indulged in her beauty. From her captivating emerald eyes that shimmered with confidence, to her flawless porcelain skin that was void of blemishes. Her long and thick petal-toned tresses was loosely braided and hung over her shoulder. Ito's eyebrows knitted together and his bottom lip jutted outwards as he pondered to himself, his eyes focused on her hair.  _'Isn't the princess rumored to have pink hair?'_

His thoughts were halted as he felt a shiver run down his spine. His eyes wandered left and right in confusion, until they landed on the red-haired man. Sasori was watching him intently, his hazel eyes narrowed. Ito immediately broke the eye contact and lowered his gaze, knowing that he had been caught staring at the bewitching pink-haired beauty.

"Um," Ito coughed, catching the trio's attention. "I need to go relieve myself," He quickly said, turning on his heels. Before any of them could say anything, Ito had already disappeared into the forest.

Sakura raised a brow at Ito's sudden departure. "Poor boy," She tutted, "His bladder must've been utterly full."

Sasori sighed and face-palmed once more.

* * *

For the next few moments, the trio discussed the details of their mission, along with battle tactics in the event that they were to be discovered. After what seemed like twenty minutes had passed, Ito had still yet to return. "How long does it take for one to take a simple piss?" Sakura grumbled, her patience growing thin. Seconds later, her eyes narrowed. "You don't think he ran away, do you?"

Itachi lightly frowned at the idea of his representative escaping.

"Perhaps we should find him," Sasori drawled.

"There's no need."

Sakura stiffened at the sound of an all-too-familiar voice, her fingers slowly balling into tight fists. Sasori on the other hand, felt annoyance and displeasure build up deep inside of him. Coming out from behind the trees was Sasuke, dressed in black and navy colored garbs, a long sword attached to his side. He was as stoic as his older brother, his slate black eyes cold and void of feeling. His gaze landed on Sakura before switching over to Sasori, quickly noticing the lack of distance between the two of them.

"Sasuke," Itachi frowned at his little brother. "Why are you here?"

"I followed them here," Sasuke answered, his eyes still focused on Sakura and Sasori. "I was sent by Her Majesty to assist you with your mission."

At that, Sakura huffed in disbelief, her lips curling into a sneer. "This is ridiculous. Let's ignore him and go find Ito," She murmured to Sasori, turning around and pulling him by his sleeve.

"There's no need," Sasuke repeated his earlier words. "Because I got rid of him."

Sakura stopped mid-step.

Half of his body still facing Sasuke, Sasori narrowed his eyes at him. "You  _what?_ "

"I got rid of him." Sasuke affirmed. "I slit his throat and dumped his body in the stream."

Silence overcame them as his words soaked in, the atmosphere now tense. Sakura stood still as stone, while Sasori's hazel eyes burned with ire as he glared at Sasuke.

Itachi on the other hand, was in a state of turmoil for many reasons, despite his indifferent expression. One reason being that he didn't know whether or not to pull his foolish brother to to the side to express his  _extreme_  displeasure. The other reason being that he now had no representative for the battle royale. And judging by the animosity between the two royals and his brother, Itachi had a feeling that his foolish younger brother did something  _very_  wrong...

Sakura slowly turned back around, her emerald orbs clashing with Sasuke's black ones. "You killed him?" She hissed, her lips trembling in anger. She felt Sasori wrap his hand around her fist. He gently squeezed, as if telling her to keep her temper in check. Or perhaps he was telling her that it was alright for her to sic herself on the younger Uchiha. Without looking at the red-haired prince, Sakura returned the squeeze before pulling her hand away and making her way towards Sasuke.

"We need to talk," She said coldly, walking past him and disappearing into the forest.

Sasuke stood still for a few seconds, his gaze was on Sasori. He had seen the way Sasori had held Sakura's hand, along with the silent interaction between the two royals. It pained him to see her so comfortable with another man, however Sasuke knew deep down inside that he would never be able to fill that spot again. He knew that Sakura would never see him as an equal again. He had let go of her hands, and he had lost her completely.

Instead of holding the hands of the woman he loved, he now held the hands of recognition and power.

The Suna prince returned the stare, his hazel eyes slightly narrowed and his lips twisted in annoyance. Sasuke looked away, and without another word, the younger Uchiha followed after his former lover.

After a minute or two of walking, he found her leaning against an oak tree, her arms crossed and her emerald eyes boring through him. They stood in silence, both gauging the other. After what seemed like forever, Sakura finally spoke up. "Why are you really here?"

"To assist with the mission," He answered impatiently.

"Killing off Itachi's representative is  _not_  assisting with the mission," She growled lowly. "You  _interfered_  with it."

"He was bound to die anyways," Sasuke replied coolly. "This competition is full of bloodthirsty monsters. A weak and no-named thief like him will get devoured by those monsters in no time." He continued on, "You have no choice but to accept me as my brother's representative."

Sakura bit the inside of her cheek. Sasuke was right; Ito was bound to be killed if he participated in the battle royale. However, Ito did not deserve to lose his life to Sasuke's bloody hands. She eyed Sasuke for a few minutes before pushing herself off of the oak tree. "You're wrong about one thing," She softly said, brushing past him as she made her way back down the back she had come home, to where Sasori and Itachi were waiting. "Even the weak will eventually turn into monsters."

After registering her words into his mind, Sasuke turned around and quickly grabbed onto her wrist, stopping her from moving further. "Even if you can't forgive me," He began, his voice a low murmur, "Even if we can't go back to how we used to be," He paused, his slate black eyes lingering on the back of her head. "I want to be able to converse with you again as your friend and your family."

After a beat of silence, Sakura pulled her hand out of Sasuke's hold and began to walk away once more. "You're a fool." She quietly said. It was faint, but he still heard it.

* * *

It was now dawn, and the group had just arrived at a village located at the border between the Fire Country and the Rain Country. Hanrei Village was well known for being a destination for tourists, with travelers coming and going from both sides of the border. The village was run by a community of merchants, each man and woman occupying booths that sold jewelry, farming tools, pottery, and sometimes weapons. Occasionally, peddlers would stop by to sell their wares from other parts of the nation.

They stopped by the first inn they came across, and had rented out two rooms. One for Sasori and Sakura, the other for the Uchiha brothers. Sasori knew that the pinkette was still tense from Sasuke's sudden appearance, and had decided to take her out to tour the village, to which she gladly appreciated.

"This place is bigger and busier than the past few villages we visited," Sakura commented, taking a bite out of the sweet bread she had bought mere seconds ago.

Beside her, Sasori hummed in agreement as he fumbled with the hood of his cloak, pulling it over his head. He quickly glanced over to her, double checking to see that her hood was also properly over her head. Once he was satisfied, he turned his attention elsewhere.

As they walked side by side, Sakura couldn't help but steal a few glances at Sasori, her mind drifting back to the night she had revealed her past to him.

Two years ago, she had lost her dearest friend Ino to the hands of death. Two years ago, she was accused of killing Ino and had been sentenced to life imprisonment. Since then, she had not really opened up to anyone about her past, until Sasori came into the picture. She didn't exactly know what overcame her to tell Sasori about her past. Rather, she just knew that if she confided in him, she knew he would silently listen to her, his attention focused solely on her.

Perhaps it was the newfound sense of trust that had developed between them. From the way they sparred together knowing that they would not truly hurt each other, to how they just knew what the other was thinking about just by looking at each other. It was simply gratifying, knowing that she had someone she could place a little, if not more, of her trust in.

Not once had Sasori questioned her in regards to the incident two years ago, and she greatly appreciated. Even though he did not openly inquire about the incident, she knew he had many questions swarming around in his mind. Every once in a while, she would catch him looking at her, with a hint of curiosity and a flash of concern in his eyes. Whenever she saw that look in his eyes, she would simply reach over to him and gently touch his arm. It was her way of showing him that she was fine and the redhead did not question it. Rather, he would give her a small smile before dragging his attention elsewhere.

However, there was one thing that tugged at the back of her mind.

The Suna prince had pulled her into his arms that night and had given her a comforting embrace, after she had told the miserable tale behind her imprisonment. His scent of cinnamon and spices wrapped around her, even warmer than the blanket that covered their bodies. It was all she could think about, and she didn't know how to stop.

It had been over two years since she had last been held in the arms of a man. Frankly speaking, it made her feel... quite odd. After all, two companions on a mission together decided to share a bed together out of laziness, and then later on embraced each other. She didn't know what to think of it. In fact, she didn't even want to think of it.

She feared that if she dived further into this deadly sea of thoughts, she would reach an inescapable place with her fractured heart on the line once more.

As they walked down the bustling street, Sakura watched as Sasori's eyes shifted left and right, his hazel eyes wandering from one shop to another. "What are you searching for?" She curiously asked. _'Why don't you look at me too?'_  Sakura's eyes widened a fraction at the thought that had suddenly invaded her mind. _'No,'_  She inwardly chided herself, shaking her head.  _'Dangerous. Bad thought.'_

Sasori didn't answer her. Instead, a quiet "ah" escaped his lips as recognition flashed in his eyes. He grabbed her by her hand and gently pulled her along.

Sakura blinked a few times in confusion as she followed in his steps. She didn't really mind being pulled along, nor did she really say anything about it. He always grabbed and pulled at her, bringing her to places on a whim. She just simply let him lead the way, while ignoring the bubbly feeling in the crevices of her heart.

"Sasori?" She curiously called out to him, pushing her thoughts away for the umpteenth time. "Where are we going?"

The Suna prince faltered in his step at the lovely way his name rolled from her lips. He turned around and eyed her in contemplation. "The barbershop," He muttered, clearing his throat. Then he pointed to an establishment located not too far away from them.

"Barbershop?" She echoed, one brow arched in questioning. "What are we going to do there?" She asked incredulously. Then with an impish smile, she asked, "Don't tell me you want to trim your hair?"

Sasori rolled his eyes at her over his shoulders and then gave her a flat stare. "Not me," He said deadpanned. "You."

At that, Sakura stopped dead in her tracks, a troubled frown on her features. "I'm not cutting my hair." She blankly said.

Knowing how vain the princess was when it came to her hair, he let out a sigh and turned around to properly face her. "We won't cut your hair," He gently squeezed her hand. "We'll just change it up a little bit with some dye as a precaution."

Even though they were both wearing the hood of their cloaks over their heads, his sharp eyes could still see a glint of pink from behind her covers. Then his eyes roamed their surroundings, in search of those that might be listening on them. Stepping a little bit closer to her, he began to explain with a low and steady tone. "You're the only person around here with pink hair, and it's known between several nobles that the Fire Country's princess has pink hair."  _'Hell, there's even rumors about her being spread around to the civilians.'_

Sakura remained silent, uncertainty dancing in her eyes as she weighed her options.

Knowing that she wasn't quite convinced just yet, he squeezed her hand one more time. "How about this," He began, "I'll go in and buy the dye, and then I'll dye your hair for you when we get back to the inn."

Sakura's her lips twisted as she mulled over his suggestion. A small smile crept on Sasori's features as he watched her, finding her pout quite endearing. The pinkette eyed him for a few more seconds before finally giving in. "Fine," She huffed. "You better do a good job." Then with a glower, she added, "I'll kill you if you screw it up."

Sasori's eyes twinkled in amusement, the corners of his lips tilting upwards a bit. "Alright," He agreed. With a chuckle, he pulled her along again.

Upon arriving at the barbershop, Sasori had purchased a dark brown dye for his princess companion, who was patiently waiting for him outside of the establishment. With the idea of being inconspicuous in mind, it didn't take him long to pick out the dye. The prince had left as swiftly as he had entered. With their next destination being a tavern to sit down and dine at, he grabbed her by the hand and pulled her along once more, failing to notice the shade of pink that lightly tinted her cheeks.

After they had dinner at a lovely and quaint tavern, they headed back to the inn later that night. The Uchiha brothers were nowhere in sight, and Sakura was glad that she didn't have to see Sasuke until the next morning. For the purpose of accommodating two people, their room was fairly large, with a small kitchen and a dining table on one side of the room, and two beds on the other side. Near the beds was a door that led to the bathroom. As if sharing the bed a week ago never happened, they did not say a word to each other about the separate beds.

Sasori was now sitting on a chair by the dining table, with Sakura sitting on the wooden floor between his feet, his art book placed on her lap. Situated on the table was a small wooden bowl, with a peculiar dark mixture inside of it. Beside the bowl was a wooden brush with thick and stiff bristles.

As Sasori ran his fingers through her hair for the first time, he was fascinated by how soft and silky her tresses were. It also baffled him that such a hard-headed and violent woman like her would pay so much attention to the hair on her head.

"Impressed?"

The red-headed prince blinked, quickly realizing that he had been combing her hair with his fingers for quite a while since they had sat down. If he could, he would play with her hair all night long. "I suppose," He coughed, his ears turning red. "It grabs too much attention though." He mumbled.

"You have to admit," Sakura chimed, "My hair is pretty fabulous, if I do say so myself."

Reaching over to grab the brush, Sasori rolled his eyes. "Need I remind you," He murmured, "You're the only princess around here with pink hair."

"I'm the only princess around here with  _fabulous_  pink hair." She corrected, turning her head to at him over her shoulders.

"And your fabulous pink hair will immediately give away your identity if we don't cover it up  _now._ " Sasori glowered. No matter what he said, the Konoha princess still took pride in her hair. He had to admit, it was the most beautiful shade of pink he had seen, and he knew he would be disappointed the moment the brown dye stained her locks. But she didn't need to know that. Seconds later, he not-so-gently tapped the back of her head with his knuckles.

"Ow!"

"Turn around," He instructed.

With a huff, the pinkette turned back around. Sasori couldn't see it, but for some reason he had a feeling that she was doing that charming pout of hers. With a small smile, he began to spread the mixture into her hair with the wooden brush. Despite the awkward atmosphere that hung between them the past week, they always somehow managed to bicker about the littlest things as if nothing had ever happened between them. For the rest of the night, they simply enjoyed each other's presence in silence. The red-haired prince worked soundlessly and diligently on her long locks, while the pink-haired princess sat still as stone, occasionally flipping through the pages of his art book.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally sat down to finish this LOL. Quite short compared to the previous chapter, but I feel that it's fitting to end it off here. It's been over a month since the last update; I had the ideas and I had a draft, but I was caught up with work and exhaustion. I was also very lazy.
> 
> This chapter was mostly focused on Sasori and Sakura, along with the small addition of Sasuke onto the team. I honestly love SasoSaku interactions and I'm glad I managed to work it out for this chapter :D
> 
> On a side note,I also created a blog dedicated to my writing and drawings: http://michimine.tumblr.com/
> 
> You'll find the occasional doodles, along with updates on my writing, etc. I'm also planning to draw the Sanguine world sometime soon, especially SasoSaku (hopefully I'll get a few things done by the end of the month).
> 
> Reviews and criticisms are greatly appreciated.
> 
> Thanks for reading, and see you soon!


	7. Akatsuki

It had been three days since Sasori and Sakura had rendezvous with Itachi, and at the same time, since Sasuke had appeared. The scrawny boy that Itachi had picked off the streets had unfortunately been silenced by Sasuke, who took it upon himself to stand in as his brother's proxy under Tsunade's commands. Sakura had questioned the authenticity of her mother's commands, but was muzzled like a dog shortly after her former lover had pulled out a written message out of his pocket, signed by her mother herself. Thus they had no choice but to accept the adjustments to their situation.

Since then, she had noticed Sasuke attempt to approach her and converse with her several times. Every time he tried, she would simply turn her back on him and walk away. Every time they made eye contact, she would quickly look away. Everywhere she went, she would feel his eyes burning into the back of her skull, but she still ignored him nonetheless.

Anyone observing from afar could tell that Sakura was being immature and temperamental. However, if they told her, she would simply just flip the finger and tell them to kiss her royal derriere. She didn't need someone to tell her what she already knew, but at the same time, she would never admit her faults.

Thinking back to when he had first arrived three days ago, it was absolutely and utterly ridiculous the way he had reached out to her and had talked of reconciling, talked of renewing their relationship, and whatnot.  _'Not after what he did.'_  She would chant to herself every time she remembered the confrontation.  _'Not after what he did.'_  No, not after what he had done to her, and not after what he had done to Ino. Her insides already boiled at the thought of forgiving him of his sins, however the notion of becoming friends with him made her sick to her very soul.

Honestly, it's not like she's never thought of forgiving and forgetting. It's just that every time she thought of it, the rage would build up in the pit of her stomach. Time and time again, that same rage would burn away any thought of forgiving and forgetting. Once those thoughts were completely burned away, what was left was a hole filled with empty sorrow.

Perhaps one day, seconds before her own death, she would probably forgive him. However, after what she had gone through the past two years, her current self was nowhere near merciful, and deep down inside, she simply was not ready to "forgive" and "forget".

On the other hand, Sasori had also been caught up in his own inner musings, for a reason that he could not figure out. Thinking back on the night where he had colored the princess's hair, he remembered the way his chest welled up with a sense of content, which he could not put his finger to. It was also quite peculiar how he felt some sort of itching irritation in his chest whenever the younger Uchiha was in his line of sight. The itching would get worse whenever he would see Sasuke attempt to approach Sakura, and then the itching would lessen whenever Sakura avoided Sasuke's advances. It was like an itch that wouldn't go away no matter how much you scratched, and simply put, it boggled his mind.

At some point of their journey, he had pulled Itachi to the side and had described the itching feeling to the stoic man. However the older Uchiha had no idea what Sasori was prattling about, nor did he have a solution for Sasori's internal predicaments.  _'I suppose it's hard for an unfeeling workaholic genius to know anything about feelings.'_  He mused to himself. He couldn't say much though, as he was also an unfeeling workaholic genius who didn't know much about feelings. The more he thought about it, the more complicated it got, thus the red-headed prince decided to just simply just push his problems aside.

Despite Sasori and Sakura drowning in their inner thoughts, they had not realized that they had been keeping each other within arm's reach throughout the duration of their travels. One was not seen without the other, nor did one do anything without the other, and this did not go by Sasuke, who had been keenly observing the two royals of the group.

The skies were dreary and the clouds were a constant shade of grey. The deeper they traveled into the Country of Rain, the more wet and bleak their surroundings became. Apparently it was normal for rain to plague the country every other day.

Their attention shifted left and right as they cautiously wandered the streets of the capital city. Compared to Konoha and all of the other villages that they had visited during their journey, Ame was rather... dreary in comparison. The buildings were grey, bland, and ridiculously worn down from the constant heavy rain. The air was heavily polluted, the scent of urine and feces permeating from every side of them, unable to be washed away by the rain. As if they had lost their souls, the citizens had blank expressions and would stagger as they wandered the streets without any protection from the rain. The children were completely drenched to their bones, and they eerily quiet as the bore the same soulless expression as the adults. In every nook and cranny was a thug, ready to lurch at the closest traveler in order to lynch them of their money and goods. Refugees were groveling on the muddy ground, begging for spare change in order to survive. Every so often, they would pass by a sickly person, and other occasions they would pass by an unmoving body.

Honestly speaking, Sakura had never been to the Country of Rain, even during her days as an ANBU soldier. Her mother never allowed her to venture into the mysterious small land, and now she knew why. The astounding amount of depravity she had seen so far was baffling, and it was like nothing she had ever seen before. Silently, Sakura sent silent words of thanks to her mother for protecting what remained of her sound mind back then. However, now she was different. Desensitized by her experiences, she had grown older and wiser, as a person who killed others for a living, and as a person who had once been a prisoner.

Unconsciously, she moved closer to Sasori's side. "How long has this been going on for?" She murmured, cautious eyes still roaming left and right.

Sasori eyed her and then at the very short distance between them, before looking ahead of him again. Leading the way in front of them was Itachi and Sasuke. "It's been like this since before even Itachi and I had arrived five years ago." Sasori murmured lowly, his lips pressed together thinly. Sparing her another quick glance, he asked her, "Are you surprised?"

"A little," She admitted. Then she shrugged. "But it's nothing short of what I've seen and experienced."

Taking her past into consideration, Sasori hummed in agreement. A beat later, he said offhandedly, "Asides from this constantly dreary weather, I hear the people of this land weren't as depressing before, until a certain someone came into the picture."

"Oh?" Sakura rose a brow. "Do you mean Madara?"

"Aa."

Kings and queens did not exist in such a small country. Rather, the land and the people were ruled by the wealthiest nobleman, and it was known that the wealthy lord of the land owned a mercenary organization. However, it was rumored that the nobleman was simply a puppet, one that was controlled by a mysterious benefactor that gave orders from the shadows. That benefactor being Uchiha Madara.

The organization was compiled of deadly assassins and mercenaries. There were eight elites, including Sasori and Itachi, all of which were personally handpicked by Madara. The other six men were willing to do any dirty deed as long as the price was high and right. As per Madara's orders, they had increased the tax rates in Rain Country and used the collected money to fund the organization. They had ransacked nearby villages of their goods and sold the goods off for a higher value to passing merchants and greedy nobles. They were also tasked with gathering corrupt noblemen in order to sponsor the organization. Every so often, they would also kill a few people here and there. Such was the organization that Sasori and Itachi had been part of for the past six years. Such was the organization that Sakura was about to infiltrate herself.

She remembered asking Sasori one night, after long hours of training, how he and Itachi had been chosen to be part of the Akatsuki's elite. And she remembered his scowling face when he had told her all of the tedious deeds they had done in order to be recognized by the organization.

He had told her stories of how they had eliminated corrupt lords that would one day stand in Konoha and Suna's way. Stories of wonderful rulers and how one had to bring the lords to safety, while the other made it seem as if they had killed the lords. Stories of how they had tracked down notorious criminals and eliminated them. Stories of how they would often come across merchants in the middle of their trade routes, and how they would pay those merchants to spread notorious rumors of them. They were all deeds that any well-abled assassin could carry out, deeds that any monkey-brained bandit could do. However, they had to do it better. It was all about making a name for themselves in order to be noticed by the treacherous Uchiha man.

After what seemed like an eternity of walking around the deteriorated streets of Rain's capital, the group had finally reached the core of the city. An eerie fortress built out of iron loomed over them. It was nothing compared to the grandeur castle back home, but nonetheless, the size of the fortress was quite large.

"Here we are," Sasori drawled, waving his hand at the fortress nonchalantly. "Akatsuki's wonderful and hard-earned fortress."

The corners of Sakura's lips tilted upwards a little in amusement at her companion's very sarcastic jab at the organization's riches.

His eyes scanned the stronghold up and down. "No matter how many times I see it, I don't seem to like how plain and bland the outlook of it is." He sniffed, displeasure crystal clear in his eyes.

"Whoever designed this has horrible tastes," Sakura tutted, her emerald eyes full of mirth and her smile now slightly bigger than before.

Sasori chuckled, quite pleased to hear that her tastes in architecture matched his. "I'm glad we agree."

On the side, Itachi sighed. Of course his picky friend  _had_  to make  _another_  comment about how the Akatsuki fortress was just  _absolutely ugly_. Naturally he had been desensitized to the red-headed prince's nitpicking, however now that his nation's equally picky princess was joining in on the criticism, he didn't quite know how to feel about it.

Sasuke however, was absolutely bewildered as he watched the two royals openly quibble about the appearance of the fortress, at their enemy's very own doorstep. "Are they..." Sasuke's brows furrowed a little. "Always like this?"

"Since the day they met," Itachi answered with another quiet sigh. "I hear they had been passing back and forth a few art literature back at the castle."

That being said, Sasuke mildly remembered an art book that Sakura had been carrying the past few days. He also remembered that very same book being in Sasori's hands every so often too. His eyes were on Sakura once again, and without realizing, he had completely lost himself in his thoughts. He knew that she noticed him watching her lately, and he knew she didn't like his staring. However, he couldn't help it. Everything about her was strange and so very different compared to how she had been in the past.

The Sakura he had known back then was simply brave and passionate. She willingly thrust herself into a life of bloodshed instead of staying inside the castle to be pampered by her mother and her maids. She befriended everyone, and was admired by all who stood on the battlefield with her. Everywhere she went, she would light up the area with her kind and charismatic smile.

The Sakura now was definitely still brave and passionate. However, she was also fearless, bold, and battle-hungry. She also had a sharp tongue and a foul vocabulary to match too. But of course, he knew he was the reason for her change of behavior. As he watched his former lover and the neighboring country's prince interact with each other, he noticed that she looked... happy, and it made him feel some type of way he couldn't describe. Was he jealous of Sasori? Or was he perhaps envious?

In that moment, he came to the cold hard truth that he didn't really know her anymore, and it was all because of him.

* * *

"At least the inside isn't as bland as the outside," Sakura commented, eyes roaming left and right as they marched the halls of the Akatsuki fortress.

True to her word, the inside of the fortress looked a whole lot better than the outside. The floors were covered with a crimson red carpet, lined with black and gold on the side. The walls were built out of smooth mahogany, with delicate structures lined against the walls. Above them hung small shimmering chandeliers, their radiant lights filling every nook and cranny of the halls.

"Where are we heading?" Sasuke inquired.

Sasori glanced at the younger Uchiha, noting his slightly stiff and sullen expression. It seemed like Itachi had also noticed, but the elder Uchiha held onto his silence and continued walking. Deciding not to dwell on the thought, Sasori looked ahead of him once more. "To the main hall," He explained, "Unfortunately, we have to introduce you two to the organization head before we settle in."

As they turned a corner, he continued in a hushed, but loud enough voice for the other three to hear him. "Whatever you do, don't make him suspect you of anything. The less suspicions, the more freely you're able to roam."

Sakura and Sasuke nodded, both of them well aware of the consequences lest they should get caught.

After another few minutes of walking and turning corners, they finally arrived in front of a double door. Sasori stepped closer to the door, his knuckles tapping against the mahogany door. A moment later, a deep baritone voice was heard from the other side of the door, beckoning for them to enter. As they stepped into the chamber, they noticed a man sitting comfortably behind a desk at the center of the room.

"Itachi, Sasori," Pein nodded at the two, acknowledging their presences. "Welcome back. I'm glad to see the both of you alive and well."

The two of them nodded briskly. "Thank you," They each murmured.

While they exchanged pleasantries, Sakura eyed Pein from where she stood beside Sasori. Dressed in black from head to toes, he was a man with a well built body, ruffled orange hair and sharp, cold eyes. Dangling around his neck was a necklace adorned with high quality onyx crystals. However, what really made him stand out was the excessive amount of piercings he had on his face. Sakura's lips twisted in distaste as she mentally counted the iron piercings garnishing his ears, nose, and lips. She couldn't help but wonder if he had any piercings elsewhere.

"What of your mission?" Pein asked Itachi, brow raised in interest.

"It went well." Itachi murmured, "I will debrief you later on once I have settled back in."

A low pleased hum escaped Pein. Then his eyes landed on Sasori. "How was your..." He paused, tilting his head to the side. "Well needed vacation?"

"I suppose it was wonderful," Sasori shrugged, waving his hand nonchalantly. "I even found my proxy along the way."

Pein nodded again in acknowledgement. His eyes ran across Sakura and Sasuke, carefully observing them from head to toes. Pein's eyes lingered on Sasuke, slowly narrowing the more he stared. Moments later, he spoke again. "The boy over there looks awfully similar to you, Itachi."

Sakura knew not to stiffen up, and she didn't. However, it felt as if her heart dropped a little at Pein's statement.  _'I knew this was a terrible idea,'_  Sakura bit her inner cheek. _'They're blood brothers, of course they'll look similar to each other. Hell, they're practically identical!'_

"A mere coincidence," Itachi responded calmly, "There are many people who look awfully similar to me." As he spoke, his eyes were on even levels with Pein. The elder Uchiha was well composed, with no sight of panic within him. Behind him, Sasuke stood still as a statue, his usual stoic expression plastered on his face.

Pein contemplated over the thought, his eyes slowly moving from Itachi to Sasuke, and then back to Itachi again. "I suppose you are right," He chuckled lowly. "There are many people in the world who look like each other. I am sure I am no exception to that either."

Itachi let out a small polite smile before bowing his head.

Sakura on the other hand, slowly and quietly exhaled through her nostrils in relief. She didn't know if it was a blessing that the Uchiha brother was intelligent and convincing, or if it was a blessing that Pein was an absolute fool.

"Moving on," Pein cleared his throat. "The other members and contestants have already arrived. You four are the last ones." He explained, "There is a welcoming gala tonight to introduce all the contestants to our sponsors, and the battle royale will be further addressed there. Your attires will be provided by the servants." Then he said, "Please make sure you choose an appropriate attire and that you're dressed to impress."

Sakura rose a curious brow. _'Gala?'_  She quite liked the sound of that.

"As for living arrangements," Pein continued, "The representatives are to stay in the same room as their respective Akatsuki elites."

Sasori blinked. _'Stay in the same room?'_  He inwardly repeated. His room only had one bed for himself, along with a couch on the side. The notion brought him back to that night over a week ago, where they had shared a bed together because they were both too exhausted to argue about who would sleep where. A funny feeling erupted in his chest as he mulled over the memory. His arms tingled as he remembered the warm sensation of her petite body held in his arms as they both slumbered in peace.

He really wanted to kick himself right there.

After that night, he had made sure that their inn rooms were arranged to have two separate beds—and for a damn good reason too. The gods above were definitely laughing at him, he was sure of it.

 _'This can't be happening,'_  Sasori groaned quietly. Although, it seemed as if his groan was not as quiet as he thought it would be, seeing as it drew the attentions of the other four inhabitants of the room.

"Is there a problem?" Pein questioned, his left brow lifted.

"No, no," Sasori coughed. "I just thought it would be more appropriate to give the lady her own room." Soon after he had said that, he felt a burning glare on the back of his head, followed by a quiet hiss coming from directly behind him.

"Ah," Pein's finger lightly tapped against his desk in a rhythmic manner as he pondered about Sasori's suggestion. "We have a few female participants who are currently sharing rooms with the Akatsuki members, however I do see where you're coming from. I suppose it would be more appropriate."

"Exactly," Sasori nodded vigorously, "I prefer my own priva-" He bit his tongue and held back a pained wheeze. Sakura dug her nails deeper into his backside, her glare still burning strong at the back of his head. "Nevermind," He grunted, "We'll stick to the original arrangements."

* * *

"Are you  _crazy_?" He hissed at her.

They were now walking down the halls of the Akatsuki fortress, on their way to the living quarters. Sasori and Sakura were at the front of the group, hissing and glaring at each other as they marched side by side. Behind them were the Uchiha brothers, both carefully surveilling their surroundings in hopes that they would not bump into anyone while the two royals openly argued with each other. Every so often, Sasuke's eyes would roam between Sakura and Sasori, his bottom lip jutted outwards as a tiny frown adorned on his features.

"Are  _you_?" She shot back with indignation. "What's wrong with those living arrangements? You're willing to leave me alone?" She rambled, her hands moving furiously as she talked. "What if someone decides to sneak into my room and  _kill me in my sleep_?"

Sasori opened his mouth. _'It's not like I want to leave you alone,'_  Was what he was about to say until he caught himself and quickly snapped his lips shut. Seconds later, he cleared his throat. "And why would they do that?" He asked, eyebrow raised in questioning.

"I don't know," She rolled her eyes and shrugged, "Maybe to cut down the competition or something along those lines."

At that, Sasori halted and turned to face her. "That's ridiculous," He refuted, giving her a flat stare. "I'm sure you're more than capable of defending yourself in any kind of situation." Then with an impassive shrug, he added, "Besides, no one would want to invade the room of the devil's pig spawn."

Both of Sakura's brows shot up. "Devil's pig spawn?" She repeated, slightly taken aback by his peculiar choice of words. First he called her a mammoth, and now she was... the devil's pig spawn? She wasn't upset or offended—he wasn't completely wrong. She definitely had a wicked personality, and her appetite was definitely quite large. But of course, she would never admit he was right.

Sasori inwardly cursed his cruddy and unintelligent choice of words. However, he wasn't going to take it back. He knew that she knew that he was more or less right. "My room is over there." He mumbled, turning on his heels and marching forward once more.

A quiet huff escaped Sakura before she followed him once more.

Behind them, Itachi quietly sighed and rubbed his temples, while Sasuke's frown deepened.

* * *

"You're not thinking of letting me sleep on the couch," Sakura blankly stared at him. "Are you?"

"Well, I'm not going to sleep on the couch either." Sasori responded, returning an equally flat stare despite the sense of deja vu trickling up and down his spine.

The both of them were now standing in the middle of his living quarters. Against one wall was his bed, complete with black and red pillows and blankets. By the bed was a simple night stand, and a few steps away stood a large dresser. On the other side of the room, situated against another wall was a black sofa. There was also a door leading to what seemed like the bathing room.

Silence overcame them as they both thought up solutions to their problems. Frankly speaking, they were both too stubborn to give up the bed, and they were well aware of the fact.

There was only one solution where they would both benefit from having the bed, and Sasori honestly, truly, really wanted to kick himself right there. Really.

He cleared his throat, catching her attention. "We might as well share the bed," Sasori suggested gruffly. "We didn't really have much of an issue last time." He mumbled, referring to that night over a week ago.  _'I'm a goddamn liar.'_

Sakura gaped at him, her mouth opening and closing like a fish. "Share?" She echoed, her voice hitting a high note at the end. Her emerald eyes blinked several times as his words sunk in.

"Is that... a problem?" He asked, eyeing her carefully. His eyes squinted slightly as he watched her cheeks flush very slightly.  _'Is she... blushing?'_

"Noo..." She replied slowly, shaking her head equally slow. "Not a problem at all."

Both were quiet again as they stared at the bed, refusing to meet each other in the eye. _'Maybe I should take the couch,'_  Sasori immediately thought, _'Be a gentleman and all.'_

A sudden knock against the door to his room broke them out of their thoughts. A timid servant's voice spoke up from the other side, "Is the lady ready to be dressed for this evening's gala?"

"Coming," Sakura quickly turned on her heel and made her way towards the door. "I'm coming now!"

Once the door clicked shut behind her, Sasori sat down on his bed, his amber eyes staring into space as he contemplated his decisions. _'Everything is going to be okay,'_  He mentally chanted as an attempt to convince himself. After a moment of silence, he fell back onto his bed as he bemoaned himself. "I'm crazy."

On the other hand, Sakura was following the maid down the hall, on the way to the dressing room where she would hunt for her attire for the gala. "Don't think too much," She muttered to herself. "Everything is going to be okay." As if in assurance, she quickly added, "I'm not crazy."

* * *

It was now nightfall, and the Akatsuki fortress was vivacious. The main hall was bustling with many noble men and women, hailing from all over the continent. Dressed in fancy attires, some of them waltzed along with the music that flowed around the hall. Others stayed by the sidelines, idly chattering with one another.

Standing together in a corner was Sasori, Itachi and Sasuke, each holding a glass of red wine and listlessly observing the guests mingling around the hall. Every so often, the noblewomen would giggle and blush as they eyed the men, their ball gowns swishing side to side as they walked by them.

Sasori was dressed in a white collared shirt, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Layered on top of his shirt was a red button up vest, with small pockets on the side. His white shirt was neatly tucked into his black trousers, which was decorated with a gold chain that hung on the side. His black boots stopped just below his knees, his pant legs tucked inside them.

Itachi's attire was black from head to toes. He wore a turtleneck made of high quality cotton on the inside. On the outside, he wore a waist coat that was held together by a leather belt that rested on his hips. His pants were fitted and he wore simple dress shoes.

Sasuke wore a long sleeved, deep navy blue top, along with a fitted black vest complete with a high collar. Cuffed around both his biceps were black leather buckles. Similar to Sasori, the legs of his black trousers were tucked into plain black knee-high boots.

At the sound of another flirty giggle coming from passing lady, Sasori began to tap his foot, his hand beginning to swirl the glass of wine that he held in his hand. "Where the hell is she..." He muttered to himself impatiently, eyes on the lookout for a certain sassy someone.

"Perhaps she wasn't satisfied with the gowns that were provided?" Itachi murmured from beside him. "We're well familiar with how picky she can be."

Sasori's lips twisted in annoyance as he turned to face his childhood friend. "This is not the time for her to be picky," He began, irritation evident in his voice. Before he could continue, a familiar voice spoke up from behind him. "And why can't I be picky?"

"You-" Sasori twisted around, his mouth open and ready to reprimand her. However the moment his eyes laid on her, he quickly went slack jawed and the irritation bottled up in him had completely disappeared. He staggered slightly, his eyes blinking several times before completely focusing on her.

Sakura's flowing gown was colored red and hugged her curves comfortably. It had double high slits at the front, showcasing her long porcelain legs and her thighs. Her breasts rested cozily against the sweetheart neckline bust of her gown. The dress straps were black and caged in a criss-cross fashion, connected to a red scalloped choker that gently wrapped around her neck. Snug on her feet were simple black ankle strapped heels. Her dyed brown hair was done in a sweet and simple updo, and her bangs gently framed her face.

Sasori took back what he said about her being the devil's pig spawn. It seemed as if the world had disappeared and all he could see was her. She was absolutely beautiful, and it simply left him breathless.

"What's wrong with being picky?" Sakura repeated, snapping him back to reality. Her brow was raised in curosity, her arms crossed under her bosom. "That foolish man from this morning said 'dress to impress', so I might as well come looking fabulous." She said with a huff.

"Nothing," Sasori murmured, "Nothing wrong with being picky."

Sakura eyed him for a few seconds. Then the princess twirled a little, her gown flowing around her. "How do I look?"

Sasori's lips were tightly pressed together as he mulled over what to say. He honestly didn't trust himself to speak at the moment. After a long pause, he finally uttered, "Wonderful. You look wonderful."

A hum escaped her, pleased with his answer. Giving him a once-over, she flashed an amused smile at him, "You don't look too shabby yourself."

Sasori straightened himself up and gave her a deadpan stare. "These galas occur quite often, much to my dismay," Sasori responded wryly. "According to Pein, it's imperative that we attend the banquets looking like anything but 'shabby'.'"

"I suppose it's all about the image," Sakura shrugged. Her emerald eyes began to observe their surroundings, moving from the glorious and lavish food to the extravagant attire worn by the banquet attendees."Speaking of which, this is quite a fancy gala for a competition where everyone is more or less killing each other." She pointed out derisively.

"It's all entertainment for the nobles that will be coming to watch." Sasori muttered, tucking his hands inside the pockets of his trousers.

"Ah," Sakura nodded sagely. "I see that the Akatsuki take their hosting and partying quite seriously."

"We take more than hosting and partying quite seriously."

Sakura turned on her heels and came face to face with an exposed muscular chest. She blinked a few times before looking upwards. Standing in front of her was a man with handsome facial features, his silver hair neatly slicked back behind his ears. He was completely shirtless, save for the fur-lined coat that he wore. His trousers were held up by multiple belts, and his pant legs were tucked into boots that matched his edgy outlook. Dangling around his neck was a necklace with a peculiar insignia.

Hanging around his arm was a bodacious woman with long, wavy purple hair. Her strapless dress was black and skin tight, a matching fur coat hung loosely around her shoulders.

Sakura took a few steps back away from the pair until she was by Sasori's side.

"Hidan," Itachi acknowledged from the side, reminding the others of his presence. Beside him, Sasuke was eyeing the close proximity between Sasori and Sakura, unconcerned about the intruding strangers.

"Yo," Hidan grinned. The silver-haired man was one of the Akatsuki's elite. He was known for being an attractive womanizer, and was quite known for his foul vocabulary and fanatical worship of an unknown god. He was also one of the more extreme members of the elite, due to his savage and ruthless killing methods. His amethyst eyes lingered on Sakura, his grin growing more shameless and vulgar the more he stared. "Where'd you find such a lovely doll, Sasori?"

Sasori eyed Hidan's lecherous leer, an unsettling irritation building up from within.  _'Lovely? Little doll?'_  He repeated the man's words several times in his mind, the corner of his lips turning downwards in displeasure. "She's not that lovely," He blurted, his face impassive as ever. He continued on, "She's a brat with an appetite the size of a mammoth, has the temper of a wild boar, and has the personality of the devil."

Sakura's head whipped at him, her emerald eyes glaring holes through him. Did he really have to put it out there like that? Behind them, Itachi pinched the bridge of his nose while Sasuke's expression was as stoic as ever.

"So she's feisty with a big appetite," Hidan chuckled, eyes still roaming Sakura's body, "I can dig that."

At that, Sakura redirected her attention back to the silver-haired man. "Well  _I_ ," She smiled stiffly. "Unfortunately do not dig  _you_."

"Unfortunate, indeed," Sasori muttered to the side, low and sarcastically. Then he cleared his throat, catching the attention of the rest of them. "I hear the food is quite delicious tonight." He declared. With a small smirk, he offered his arm to his companion. "Shall we go and see?"

"Why, of course," Sakura tittered, looping her hand around his elbow. "I'm absolutely famished."

Without another word, the twosome began to march away, pushing their way past Hidan and his partner.

Despite being openly rejected, Hidan cackled loudly without a care in the world. Once he had calmed down, he began to pull along the woman that hung onto his arm, his keen eyes lingering on the retreating backs of Sasori and Sakura.

Meanwhile, Sasuke watched as Sasori and Sakura began to mingle around together, arm in arm. The sense of loss that he had been feeling the past few days had returned, and it simply agitated him.

"Sasuke," Itachi murmured lowly from beside him. "I do not know what happened between the two of you, nor do I know what you have done to upset her," His elder brother began, "But it is best to leave her alone." Itachi's lips pursed and he placed a gentle hand on his younger brother's shoulder. "It is best to let her go, just as she has let you go."

As Itachi's hand began to guide him into another direction, Sasuke's onyx eyes couldn't help but linger on Sakura's figure for a few seconds longer. The younger Uchiha then closed his eyes and turned away.

The night went on, and Sasori and Sakura took advantage of their time by scouting around the hall for the Akatsuki elites and their proxies. Every so often, Sakura would grab an appetizer off of an attendant's serving platter, and Sasori would simply roll his eyes at her. He had already insulted her enough as it is, so with a light smile, he let her have her way for the night.

Two figures appeared on the balcony above the hall, catching the attention of all of the party-goers. Pein stood tall and proud, in an obsidian suede suit made of high quality materials. Beside him stood his wife, a graceful woman dressed in a navy gown. Her hair was platinum with blue hues, and was as beautiful as the moonlight's reflection in clear water.

"The Akatsuki welcomes you all tonight," Pein began boisterously, "To this period of time, where we will soon witness a competition more bloody and brutal than man has ever known to come."

The swarm of nobles raised their wine glasses at him, each man and woman hooting and cheering eagerly. Those with free hands were clapping vigorously. Situated in different areas of the hall, were the Akatsuki elites with their partners beside them. Ranging from thieves to assassins, they all calmly eyed Pein as he spoke.

"The competition will begin three days from now," Pein continued, "We will start off with a battle royale to weed out the weak. One week after that, individual brawls will consequently take place until only one person remains." The more he spoke, the louder the orange-haired leader got.

With a crazed glint in his eyes, he roared out, " **There are no rules!**   **There are _no limits!_** "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Gosh, wow. It's been so long! I'm not dead haha.
> 
> I've just been so caught up with work and my life right now has been a mess lately, but I worked up the energy to write up this chapter. I've also been caught up with drawing lately, because I'm applying for a full time graphic designs course later this year, so wish me luck!
> 
> Asides from the slight introduction to the Akatsuki in this story, the main focus of this chapter was Sasori and Sakura's awareness of each other, along with Sasuke's realizations of certain things. I'm glad this chapter worked out well, and hopefully the next will be better.
> 
> Reviews and criticisms are greatly appreciated.
> 
> Thanks for reading, and see you guys soon!


End file.
